A Salted Land

A Salted Land explores the escalating environmental disasters triggered by human activities at the Salton Sea. Located in Southern California, the Salton Sea was accidentally created in 1905 when the Colorado River breached an irrigation canal, flooding the Salton Basin. The manmade lake was once a popular tourist destination; however, agricultural runoff and other pollutants resulted in a dramatic increase in salinity as well as mass animal die-offs, threatening the entire ecosystem. Through my photographs, salted paper prints developed with Salton Sea water, and newspaper collages, I want to emphasize the process of extraction and excavation, as well as the blurring line between humans and nature.

《盐地》描绘了美国加州索尔顿湖百年变迁，以及人类活动对自然环境的毁灭性影响。二十世纪初，科罗拉多河的人工灌溉渠决堤，河水持续两年涌入盆地，形成了索尔顿湖。上世纪七十年代，索尔顿湖曾是度假胜地，吸引大量游客富豪慕名前来。但由于过度开发、土地盐碱化、以及自然灾害，如今当地几乎沦为空城──水平⾯持续下降，风沙肆意，恶臭扑面而来，当地居民饱受哮喘的困扰。我用相机记录此地的同时，运用古典工艺盐印法将自然环境的一部分转移到相纸上，强调人类榨取自然资源、刻画这片土地的过程及结果。