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Donika Llakmani
Inter 1
A view of the Salton Sea and Red Hill Marina according to its inhabitants. The Salton Sea is a juxtaposition within itself: an accidental body of water in the middle of the desert, beautiful from a distance yet unapproachable from the odours of dead fish.The Red Hill Marina is occupied by duck hunters. Their playground consists of the 'backyard' of their trailers set in the American landscape. It is rather controversial with the Marina being part of the Sonny Bono wildlife refuge for migratory birds and simultaneously a duck hunting ground. A serene, picturesque view, versus the brutality of the gunshots and the hunters. Relationship between the brutality of the duck skinning and plucking after the hunt, versus the hunters' view of the serene Salton Sea landscape.Hunters' view of their playground of their trailers' 'backyards'. After the hunting day is over they sit in their landscape drinking their beer and showing off their kill. The receded and abandoned boat ramp at the Red Hill Marina becomes occupied by the duck blinds with a mirrored skin which reflect their environment. The camouflaged enclosures ironically blend in the beauty of the desert whilst containing the brutality of the shooting.Inhabitation of the Salton Sea desertView of the Red Hill Marina. The Hill appears to be floating on a sea of salt. It playfully sits at the horizon line and has become an island on the land which used to be filled with salt water. The floating duck blind drifts across the landscape marking its journey as it barely touches the salty ground. Tilting and tipping according to the hunters' weights the view of the American landscape constantly alters. Enclosing the brutal gunshots from the calm view, it acts as a threshold between the hunter, the hunted, the view, and the landscape.Archive of various elements and colour palette present at the Salton Sea. Dynamic moments where the land salt and water merge, where derelict trailers have the best views of the landscape, where structures float on land and lead to no particular direction: A miracle in the desert where the American dream rots in a serene and beautiful landscape inundated the brutal reality and by millions of dead fish.After their beer the hunters pluck and skin the ducks in the landscape and fill the salty ground with feathers.