By Pame Aguirre Leonetti
Coachella Valley is famous all over the world because of its great music festival which, since 1990, gathers the best of international music. But Californian desert has also been transformed into the biggest outdoors museum of the world, with contemporary artworks spread all through 88 kilometers in the middle of nowhere.
It is the exhibition“Desert X”, first inaugurated in 2017 with 16 artworks by renowned artists and which nowadays, in its second edition, is trying to find its place as another must see of Palm Springs.
The idea behind this exhibition is to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the environment. That’s why all the installations stand in the middle of the valley, surrounded by the highest mountains of the United States, in a place that once was considered sacred by Native Americans.
This year, the exhibition has 19 site specific artworks by 19 international artists curated by Amanda Hunt y Matthew Schum. Under artistic direction of Neville Wakefield they represent in different ways the ecosystem balance theme.
Le Banana Picks
Le Banana went around Coachella Valley to tell you which artworks of “Desert X” you can’t miss if you are in California or if you are thinking of traveling to go to Coachella Music Festival.
“Western Flag”, by Irish artist John Gerrard is a es must-see. A flag with made of seven black smoke stripes created with LED lights that, as the artist said: “tries to disrupt the audience and make visible the carbon dioxide that pollutes the environment.
Another must see is “Specter”: a huge orange monoliths made of neon so bright that dazzles everyone. The image, created by Sterling Ruby, seems to be an optical illusion in the middle of the desert. And the contrast between neon and nature makes people think about the ecosystem surrounding it all.
At Rancho Mirage area, Mexican artist Pía Camil, who enchanted us all at Art Basel Buenos Aires, set the artwork “Lover’s rainbow”, a stunning 12 meters long and 5 meters tall rainbow that symbolizes rain and fertility.
“Dive-in”, by Danish artistic group “Superflex” is another work that must be seen at Desert X, and must be photographed, of course, because it is super Instagrammable. The artwork is a kind of huge pink walls that transform into an open doors cinema whore sea images are shown . The message? Teach the audience that that place was once an Ocean and the global warming can transform it into water again.
Native tribes are also present at Desert X and are another attraction. Photographer Cara Romero, who has chemehuevi ancestors, created a series of photos that resemble the posters that can be seen by American Highways to remind that those lands belonged to Native Americans.
LB Info
Where? Coachella Valley, Palm Springs, California
When? Until April 21st
Price? It free and open to everyone!
If you want to know more about Desert X visit the official website and download the app with an interactive map of all the installations.