2016–2017
Dos Desiertos is a visual journey through the Four Corners desert in the south-west of the USA and the Atacama in Chile and Bolivia, some of which are photographed from the air using a drone. This project encompasses ethereal, black and white photography as well as the film Dos Desiertos (link to the film). The Atacama in Chile and Bolivia is a desert plateau stretching out west of the Andes Mountains on the Pacific coast of South America. As the driest nonpolar desert of the world, this unique ecosystem is home to some of the world’s most spectacular landscapes: The Cordillera de la Sal, a mountain range near San Pedro de Atacama, was formed by tectonic activity in the Salar de Atacama, during which layers of continental red sediments and white evaporites were folded up and uplifted. Over the last 4.000 years, erosion by water from the rare rainfall in this extremely arid region has formed a bizarre-looking landscape with superficial salt efflorescence and salt caves. Meanwhile, the Four Corners Desert in the southwest United States is located on the Colorado Plateau and named after the quadripoint of the four bordering states Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. This area combines a multitude of sublime landscapes, such as the Painted Desert, known for its brilliant and varied colors including the red rock and shades of lavender, and Monument Valley, characterized by a cluster of large sandstone buttes and considered sacred by the Navajo Nation.