Migrantes is a series of self-portraits of migrants in Mexico, made as they waited to cross the border into the United States. Photographed in collaboration with the subjects, Ferguson set-up the scene for each image, mounting a medium format camera on a tripod with a cable release and then stepped back, allowing the migrants to choose the moment of capture and participate in the process of documenting their lives. In February 2021, after a change of presidential administrations in the US, migrants from Central and South America surged on the US-Mexican border. Photographs of fraught migrants carrying their belongings, clinging to loved ones and caught in the flashes of photographers’ strobes were circulating in the media. While Ferguson notes the importance of this photojournalism, he noticed a lack of photography from the Mexican side of the border, especially images that gave the migrants any measure of agency.
Carlos Soyos, 34, and his son, Enderson, 8, from Guatemala, at the Good Samaritan migrant shelter in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Photograph by Carlos Soyos and Adam Ferguson
Stephany Solano, 17, from Guatemala, at an informal migrant camp in Reynosa, Mexico. Photograph by Stephany Solano and Adam Ferguson
Rosa Arévalo, 25, with her daughter, Kendra, 7, from Guatemala, at an informal migrant camp in Reynosa, Mexico. Photograph by Rosa Arévalo and Adam Ferguson
Linfir López, 33, from Guatemala, at an informal migrant camp in Reynosa, Mexico. Photograph by Linfir López and Adam Ferguson
Victor Castro, 41, and Gertrudis Ortega, 38, with their 1-month-old daughter, Betani, from Ometepec, Mexico, at the Good Samaritan migrant shelter in Ciudad Juárez. Photograph by Gertrudis Ortega and Adam Ferguson
Amy Rose Henríquez, 26, from El Salvador, at Hotel Omare in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Photograph by Amy Rose Henríquez and Adam Ferguson
Jasmine, 1, with her mother, Mariola Hernández, 28, from Guatemala, at the Good Samaritan migrant shelter in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Photograph by Mariola Hernández and Adam Ferguson
A migrant, 50, from Honduras, whose name is being withheld to protect her identity, at a Catholic shelter in Reynosa, Mexico. Photograph by the subject and Adam Ferguson
Belkis Quiroz, 26, with her son Santiago, 1, from Honduras, at Enrique Romero Municipal Gymnasium in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Photograph by Belkiz Quiroz and Adam Ferguson
América Yanira López, 35, and her children, Miguel, 12, Philipe, 10, and Adriana, 7, from El Salvador, at a Catholic shelter in Reynosa, Mexico. Photograph by América Yanira López and Adam Ferguson
Doris Lara, 31, from Honduras, at Enrique Romero Municipal Gymnasium in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Photograph by Doris Lara and Adam Ferguson
Eduardo Benavides, 40, with his son Jonathan, 9, from El Salvador, at an informal migrant camp in Reynosa, Mexico. Photograph by Eduardo Benavides and Adam Ferguson