Awake in the Desert Land

As I walk around in the dark, I wonder if we are at the end of an era - or are we already shifting to another level of connection with the land? The dryness of the terrain makes me wonder. As I make my way inland, in Baja California, Mexico, I find small communities at the verge of disappearing - leaving their land and resources behind and other families struggling to shift the abundance within the fertility of the land. For moments I felt the immediate connection to nature as part of a cultural heritage yet I was taken by the uncertainty of their days. As these communities evolve so too does their relationship with the land leave me to question if there is a choice in the matter, or if the shift is being created by a cascade of unseen consequences that brought them where they are.

Small rural communities in Baja California, Mexico rely on water wells, fish, farm animals and the desert land around them. With climate change driving change, low-income and rural communities often find themselves on the front line of change hit with the most abrupt impact. In some areas the shortage of reliable resources has created an atmosphere of uncertainty and hope for what is to come.

Awake in the Desert Land was born as a need to connect with the values of rural communities in Baja California and their connection with the land inviting the viewer to not judge but to feel the fragile relationships between the land and the people living in the area, while they depend daily on the resources around them. While I continue to live in Mexico I intend to keep working on the project for the next year, intending to create a dialogue on how we relate to our surroundings or we coexist.