Beautiful, terrible, ecological nightmare?

A wasteland wonder?

Let me tell you the tale of the Salton Sea.

1905 and a diverted Colorado River swollen with fresh rainfall flowed over a temporary canal and dumped the equivalent of one olympic sized swimming pool's worth of water into the valley for two years. This formed the Salton Sea.

Humans, never missing the opportunity to capitalize on their own folly, created a resort town popular in the 50s and 60s and introduced wildlife to the area. LA socialites intent on a spring break vibe came to visit the imported flamingos and fish the newly introduced tilapia population.

But these utopic moments never last, for as soon as the lake was formed it began accumulating an immense amount of salt and toxins with no where to go.

On August 4th 1999, 7.9 million tilapia died in one day.

Cyanobacteria in the blue green algae that creates a thick film on the shoreline causes liver damage in all living creatures that inhale the dust as the lake very slowly dries.

"Operating Conditions" uses hide soaked in the toxic sea to draw the connection of the viewer to the immense ecological tragedy that is this barren mistake of a place. It presents visible decay, discoloration, crystalline salt formations of the skin as if to say, "You, too, are made of this." The skin is mounted on steel structures that allow it to drape, sway, and swim, showing the variety of conditions present in the surrounding environment. Steel that will, itself, rust into the waters it rises out of.

How can you help? Our fearless team will need to get ourselves there and gather enough protective gear to survive entering the waters that pose a very real risk to our health. We believe strongly that awareness of the crisis is key, and that helping humans connect to their environments in a deeply personal way paves the way to better decision-making in how we interact with nature and our continued existence within it.

Your contribution will help tell this story, and keep us safe while doing it.