Perimeter Footpath, Part of BorderXing. Photograph c. Heath Bunting 2002

National borders are increasingly frontlines of political and social dissent. Asylum-seeking and political migrations are some of the most significant issues of our time. Heath Bunting's BorderXing Guide website primarily consists of documentation of walks that traverse national boundaries, without interruption from customs, immigration, or border police. The work comments on the way in which movement between borders is restricted by governments and associated bureaucracies.

Toll Gates. Photograph c. Heath Bunting 2002. Part of BorderXing Guide

The website was (is) not available to everyone who has an Internet connection. People wishing to view the website throughout the life of the project, had to physically travel to one of the designated locations, or apply to become an authorised client themselves. Viewing of the work is still possible via an application process available on the project website.

The project intended a reversal of the way that borders restrict movement and at the same time challenged the supposed liberties that accompany the concept of the Internet as a borderless space.

Breaking down the division between art and everyday life, Bunting prioritises information and action. Often performing as an interventionist or prankster, Bunting finds form within every day acts of resistance, reaching audiences through systems of documentation and distribution including photography, print publishing and the web.

Launch the project (above) and register in order to view documentation of his 12 month journey across Europe.

Heath Bunting, BorderXing logo, 2002-2003, c.Heath Bunting

In the accompanying text, Reverse Authentification, Florian Schneider describes Bunting's, BorderXing Guide as ‘a manual written on foot’ and an art project embodying ‘a carefully calculated politics of public relations’. He comments -

… Borders are there to be crossed. Their significance becomes obvious only when they are violated – and it says quite a lot about a society’s political and social climate when one sees what kind of border crossing a government tries to prevent.

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