"The journey to reach the US border is very long and at times I feel very sad because I left some of my sons back in Honduras and the rest are in the United States of America... "- Karina from Honduras

Freight trains are officially used strictly for the transportation of goods between Canada, Mexico

and the United States of America as part of a trade agreement between these nations since 1994.

However,these trains are alsounofficially used as a means of transportation for thousands of poor people searching for better opportunities.

Central Americans, specifically from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have been hopping aboard trains to get to the Mexican/USA border for many decades. Similarly, freight trains used to be commonly used by impoverished American citizens whom would hop on these trains in order to travel from state to state

across the USA to find work, especially after the civil war. These homeless people or vagabonds are often romantically referred to as ‘Hobos’ and they continue to travel across the nation to this day.

"It’s hard for me to observe such beauty in the horizon as it reminds me of my home and what I left behind" - Jonatan from Honduras.

Freight trains travel through inhospitable but often breathtakingly beautiful lands across each nation. For example, as one starts the journey in the state of Chiapas (Mexico), it’s common to encounter cherry blossoms along the route; to see villages tucked away with many houses made out of adobe bricks, making one feel nostalgic. Rivers that have not yet been exploited by the greed of corporations unfold, healthily

flowing in and out of view. When traveling across the hot Californian desert the amazing scenes pass by and the similarities between northern Mexico and Southern USA become obvious; it reminds us that both nations are really just one land and the differences are only perceived by humans. Moving north towards Missouri the landscape changes quite dramatically and the presence of huge industrial structures can be seen alongside the rail tracks. The Mississippi Delta River is beautiful but due to the floods that recently affected Arkansas City and other states, scenes of devastation are everywhere along that region.

‘The Landscape of the Beast’ focuses on the landscape that very few people ever get to view, aside from migrants and hobos. This project means to reveal the beauty of each nation and functions as a reminder that land can erase boundaries. This body of work (still in progress) has been produced over the course of almost 2 years and various routes have been covered in order to capture the rich diversity of each nation’s landscape.

This freight train has been nicknamed ”The Beast” by themigrants who travel on top of the carriages as their impecunious circumstances make other forms of travel impossible.

Sadly, this journey can become their worst nightmare due to the severe conditions that they are often confronted with and can even result in loss of limbs or life.