With a first person account from photographer, writer, and musician Nicole Saari, we take another look at the magical mystery tour that is the Bombay Beach Biennale.
The gravel beneath our tires crackled as we paused to take a photo against the Welcome To Bombay Beach sign. As I stood beside it, I could easily imagine the many thousands of tourists who likely lined up to take similar photographs in its heyday.
Above photo, Genie Davis
A time long before flooding or ecological collapse would encroach upon this beachfront town, and many decades before the inception of the Bombay Beach Biennale. With the Salton Sea reflecting mid-afternoon light and brown clouds of dust just ahead, I could already feel the electricity of imagination all around me.
Above photo, Genie Davis
Our first stop was the check-in desk outside the Ski-Inn – the lowest bar in North America at 223 feet below sea level. I’ve had a long-standing fascination with the area and have visited both Bombay Beach and the Sea many times, but I have never witnessed so many visitors. Florescent colored wristbands attached, I began to snap some images for Diversions LA. The interior of the Ski-Inn is covered in guest signed and decorated dollar bills which add to its already outspoken personality. A collection of artists and residents alike chatted while enjoying a reprieve from the high winds that afternoon.
During the festival, driving in town is not permitted to help limit the level of disruption to the residents. After ditching our vehicle in the designated lot adjacent to the bar, we began our Biennale adventure by foot.
Our Biennale visit kicked off with a trip to the Chill Out Among Hay at the Disco-Tron by Mack Suprastudio and IDEAS UCLA. It was a surreal metallic shelter meets the earth scene featuring what would be the first of many pumping techno and house DJ sets to come.
I climbed to the top of a small mountain of hay bails for a better view of the property. The contrasting brightly colored silks, old wood buildings, and vibrant reflective metals of the festival shown in the distance. Once back on solid ground, our next stop in the journey was Randy Polumbo’s stunning Angler Grove – a shimmering chrome mirage melting into its deliciously soft foam steps. Inside we were greeted with disco balls, distorted mirrors, and a postcard view of the trees outside the structure through a perfectly circular window.
As we made our way down 5th street, we were treated to an eye-opening lecture by Professor Mark Wrathall of Oxford University entitled The Eternal Silence of These Infinite Spaces Terrifies Me. It was fascinating to contemplate the richness of silence in the spaces that lie within music, between words, and among the ordinary pauses that occur throughout life. The crowd was hushed as the philosopher spoke and I could feel the depth of the infinite unknown he spoke of in those peaceful moments. This was only one of a series of lectures during the Biennale with the recurring theme of limitless void, the higher power that surrounds us, and infinity. My only regret was not being able to attend each of them.
Leaving the lecture, it was a dream-like sight to witness the parade of musicians, artists, and revelers making their way down towards the water past Bombay Beach Estates and Stefan Ashkenazy’s captivatingly sensual Shaguar. Bass drums backlit by LED decorations boomed, attendees clapped and sang, and harmonizing horns and percussive elements blended together into an enveloping swirl of instrumental beauty.
Above photo, Genie Davis
On the beach we were able to witness one of Olivia Steele’s incredible neon pieces, entitled Save Me – placed several yards out in the Sea and lit just as the sun began to set. Giancario Neri’s Moonstuck and Debra Berger’s Sculptures From The Sea as well as Ray Ewing and Adrian Pijoan’s Salty were other beachside standouts. In all honesty, each piece and artist who brought them to life was breathtaking – there were no weak links here. The Biennale as a whole was a perfect living collage of individual self-expression.
Heading back into town from the beach we were able to catch Greg Haberny’s exhibit at the Petit Hermitage gallery entitled Why Do I Wreck Everything I Love. Black and white shapes surrounded us and enormous melancholy cigarettes with faces of their own greeted us at the entrance and exit.
Additional sounds of music and laughter welcomed us as we entered Pirate’s Alley – a pop-up bar with fairy lights, connected trailer buildings, and enticingly scented tacos. My colleague and I went our separate ways for a time and I had the opportunity to listen to everything from an acoustic version of the Disney Jungle Book classic Bear Necessities to a Bombay Beach infused cover of New York, New York while seated there. Near the Alley is the Bombay Beach Opera House by James Sorter, where performances by Kate Feld, Harrison Lee, Lance Trevino and enticing dances choreographed by Benjamin Millepied took place. The haunting voices of the performers echoed down the blackening streets.
The Opera House
At full dark the town of Bombay Beach was lit with translucent neon, brilliant psychedelic color changing lights suspended above walkways, trash can fires around the Bombay Beach Drive-In with an apropos screening of Sea of Love: Monsters in The Water, and the glow of many beach installations in the distance.
Above photo by Anya Kaat
On our way back to Los Angeles the next day I was thankful to have gotten the chance to take a walkthrough the glorious Pythia which is a converted permanent performance space by Danielle Aykroyd. The coda of the journey was an end full of heart, literally.
Home Is Where The Heart Is by Jennifer Korsen drew the eye into a transformed decrepit home. Gold filled the many cracks in the seemingly ancient floors, and a sparkling winged heart hung as centerpiece against the bones of its decay.
The Bombay Beach Biennale is much like a scavenger hunt of experiences. Each small town road leads one to more surprising visual, aural, and overall sensorial works than can be given justice here. I am eager to return next year – this time with a bicycle – to cover additional ground and bear witness to more incredible expressions of art and culture. “Home Is Where The Heart Is” and a piece of my heart is still drifting in the breezes of Bombay Beach.
- Nicole Saari; Photos by Nicole Saari; additional photos credited individually