MARCUS DOYLE – THURSDAYS BY THE SEA
2012-12-24Thursdays By The Sea features Doyle’s images from the desolate area surrounding the Salton Sea, the largest lake in California. Formed accidently in 1905 by a breach in the Colorado River, this lake was, in the 1950s, a bigger tourist attraction than Yosemite National Park. But over the years the local population and tourists have been driven away.
From its main water supply, the New River, the Salton Sea became heavily polluted with agricultural runoff and sewage from Mexico. As the volume of runoff increased, the lake’s water levels fluctuated so greatly that whole towns were flooded with this filthy, saline water. In the late 70s, the entire shoreline surrounding Bombay Beach had to be abandoned, leaving behind a sparsely inhabited ghost town.
Inspired by both Richard Misrach’s photographs of the Salton Sea from the 1980s and the extraordinary light in the area, Doyle embarked on this twelve month project. For months at a time from 2004 to 2005, Doyle visited the Salton Sea every Thursday, photographing the deserted landscape and the remnants left behind. His images capture both an elegance and a sense of re-birth within this odd, decaying environment.
Exhibition runs through till January 2nd, 2013
Margaret Street Gallery
63 Margaret Street
London
W1W 8SW
