In Chicago, Art That's Yearning to Breathe Free

Other works are haunting.

In a series of oil paintings by Ana Teresa Fernandez, a woman completes menial tasks in outdoor landscapes. In one, she vacuums the border at San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. Written on the border wall is, "No puedo pasar indiferente ante el dolor de tanta gente," which translates roughly as, "I cannot cross [the border] indifferently without acknowledging the pain of so many people."

Other paintings and drawings depict non-citizen immigrants who have fought in U.S. wars abroad.

A comic-book-style drawing by Eric J. García shows a "G.I. Jose" poised with a gun. A line underneath him reads, "Always treated as foreigners except when needed to kill foreigners." Nearby, an Uncle Sam figure says, "Se Habla Español."

The exhibit also reflects the lighter side of immigrant life.

One installation, called "Phone Home" by Mario Ybarra Jr., is a glass case full of colorful international calling cards. A piece by Alejandro Diaz shows a series of facetious handwritten signs. One reads: "No Mexicans/No Tacos/You Better Think Twice America."

Also included is a photograph of a 2006 immigrant rights march in Chicago for which more than 100,000 people took to the streets. There's also a portrait of immigration activist Elvira Arellano, who defied a deportation order and lived in a Chicago church for a year with her young son, a U.S. citizen. It's called "Sorrowful Mother."

The exhibit runs through Sept. 7 and will not travel.