Traces is a video essay born from years of ethnographic research conducted in Tijuana by the artist- anthropologist, Fiamma Montezemolo. Embracing its hybrid nature, straddling the realms of documentary and fiction, this practice emerges as a favored medium for the artist. Within the fluidity and narrative freedom of the video essay, Montezemolo finds the opportunity to contemplate the notion of separation and frontier, epitomized by the imposing wall dividing the United States and Mexico. In this work, twenty-four hours of uninterrupted footage depicting life at the border are condensed into a twenty-minute span. Scenes of dilapidated surveillance structures, fleeting moments of migrant crossings, and desolate landscapes are intertwined with an electronic musical motif. Accompanied by a female off-screen voice, the narrative directly addresses the wall, personifying it as a male entity, in an effort to expose its weaknesses, contradictions, and the most tragic and brutal aspects.