For his latest project, one artist from New York is eschewing canvas, clay or even celluloid in favor of cotija.
Cosimo Cavallaro is currently using blocks of the Mexican cheese to erect a “wall” just feet from the U.S.-Mexico border in Tecate, Calif., having been spurred on by the President Trump’s call for a border wall.
“Trump’s demand gave me a context for this, the emotional impact,” Cavallaro told Huffington Post.
Cavallaro, an Italian-Canadian artist originally from Montreal, further outlined the reason for his latest project on CheeseWall.com, which also offers updates on the project’s progress along with cheese-branded merchandise.
Cavallaro is also soliciting donations for more cheese, to lengthen the wall, via a GoFundMe page. The artist has currently set the crowdfunding goal at $ 300,000, which will reportedly purchase enough spoiled cheese (Cavallaro won’t waste the fresh stuff) to make a 1,000-foot-long wall.
“If you believe building the federal wall is a waste of our country’s resources, support this art wall to make a point,” reads the GoFundMe page.
Cavallaro started building the wall Monday afternoon and plans to continue through Thursday, HuffPost reported. He’s also been documenting the construction on the Art Above Ground Facebook page, where he and his assistants can be seen unpacking large pallets of cotija.
“Got enough cheese here, just bring me a plate of macaroni, or bologna,” he joked in the footage, before an assistant suggests prosciutto.
Cavallaro admitted to Huffington Post that the wall may break down, or be eaten by wildlife, but he maintains that it’s all part of the artistic process — especially when working with cheese. According to a biography on Cavallaro’s site, he has a long history of working with “perishables,” and most notably cheese, which he’s constructed jackets and boots from, and even used to fashion an outfit for Twiggy.
“A cheese wall is something I’ve wanted to do for 20 years,” he told the Huffington Post.