Going to Water
Not on view
Postcommodity interlaces multiple scenes of a desert lakebed with an evocative soundscape, directing our attention toward a human-induced ecological catastrophe in Owens Valley, situated east of the Sierra Nevada in California. Historically known as Payahüünadü (“place of flowing water”) by the nearby Paiute tribes of Bishop and Lone Pine, this valley once thrived as a meeting place for Indigenous peoples. After California’s 1848 gold rush, the influx of new settlers into coastal cities prompted a redistribution of land and resources by state and federal authorities. In the early 1900s, the City of Los Angeles constructed an aqueduct to divert water from the valley, devastating the local ecosystem. The desiccated lakebed now generates dust storms that distribute carcinogenic particles over large distances, causing health issues, displacing locals, and destroying agricultural lands.
- Artist
- Postcommodity
- Title
- Going to Water
- Edition
- 1/3
- Date
- 2021
- Place of Creation
- Los Angeles
- Object Type
- Time-Based Media
- Medium
- Multi-channel video with sound
- Dimensions
- Site-specific installation
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase, a gift from The Svane Family Foundation
- Accession Number
- 2022.26.19
Currently on view
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