Within the greater Sonoran Desert lies southern California’s Imperial County. Bordered by Mexico to the south and Palm Springs to the north, this desert landscape bears the scars of heavy pollution – its residents face some of the worst living conditions in America. However, it is also home to a colorful and diverse community composed of various different subgroups that each uphold their own ideals and life philosophies. Motivated by his longstanding interest in lives that contravene conventional expectations, Lourens Samuel embarked on a trip through this peripheral landscape.
Imperial County is home to the notorious Slab City, an outlaw town often referred to as the “last free place in America.” Lacking amenities such as water and electricity, the inhabitants are left to fend for themselves in an environment that can often turn hostile, what with its boiling temperatures, wild animals, and limited contact with the outside world.
Slab City is a short distance away from Bombay Beach, a former resort town located on the shores of the dying Salton Sea, a once-popular tourist destination that has become inhospitably saline. Long gone are the sunbathers, ice cream stands, and water skiing vacationers of days past; all that’s left is a vacant wasteland. This area has one of the lowest elevations of any settlement in America. Although it is home to just a few hundred inhabitants, in recent years it has experienced a revival of sorts, largely fueled by a handful of newcomers seeking to realize their bohemian dreams in the decaying town.
The occupants here have created a world with its own unique norms and customs. Common societal expectations often go ignored, and there is an air of openness that, in more conventional contexts, might seem off-puttingly bizarre. The distinction between fact and fiction is blurred; the people here inhabit a universe with its own narratives
and mythology, shaped by the stories they tell. There is John, who lost his wife to suicide and whose daughter was subsequently taken from him by the authorities; there is a man who tells the tale of a father-and-son duo who sailed to the South Pole only to disappear over its edge and end up on the North Pole, thereby realizing that the Earth is hollow; there is Jennifer, who met David, who had been lying under a bridge for weeks with a broken back. She began taking care of him, and they eventually developed feelings for one another. They moved out to “the Slabs” in hopes of starting a new life. Since they lack the necessary means to obtain surgery for David, the only forms of pain relief available to him are the nearby hot springs and marijuana.
The world out in the Slabs and the surrounding area can seem fantastical and almost dreamlike, but romanticizing the lives lived out here would represent an oversimplification. With an ever-fluctuating population that grows from roughly 100 in the summers to several thousand in the winters, the inhabitants make up a highly diverse collection of people. There are the idealists who willingly sought out an existence far away from conventional constraints, there are the people seeking refuge from the authorities, and there are the drug addicts and outcasts who have been failed by society, such as the Ramirez
family. The heads of this household once worked several jobs each, yet still struggled to make ends meet. They picked up and left for the Sonoran Desert to escape the looming threat of homelessness. Despite the harsh desert conditions, they managed to forge a new existence here, living off of Airbnb profits and earnings from various odd jobs. Eventually, though, the pair split up, and Mrs. Ramirez left with the kids.
The desolate landscape of Imperial County serves as a grim reminder of the dark side of the American Dream. Its ruins can be viewed as physical manifestations of the unfulfilled promise of opportunity and prosperity through hard work. However, life out here also offers a unique level of freedom and independence, both of which represent cornerstones of the rags-to-riches narrative.
Lourens Samuels’ photography and film work provides a glimpse into this remarkable world set against the backdrop of the beautiful Sonoran Desert, including the heavy pollution that is threatening to destroy it as well as the ominous training exercises carried out at the local military base.
His Temple Wilderness series depicts the brutality and beauty of life on the fringes of society, showcasing a group of people marked by a stubborn will to survive and a determination to carve out lives on their own terms.
USA, 2018
Text by Johanne Björklund Larsen