because of the genius of John Divola, I will always witness the LA sunset through the lens of his Zuma Series (1977). a series of flash-heavy photos taken on the coast of Malibu that equally capture the detail of the sunset and the abandoned structure he’s inside, complete with some manipulation of the decaying objects and walls and general found junk. genius. to me, the photos encapsulate the human condition - an aging, solid body made of material(s), represented by the abandoned structure. then, the felt presence of the ether, spirit, something beyond. the promise of a potential eternity. the way love and ideas feel. this is the ever-changing sunset through the window of the house. I see myself in every photo. then, of course, the homage to a familiar scene - the coastline that made me who i am. the first ocean my dad threw me into at three so I could “learn”, but only actually securing my confidence to swim freely in waves by age fourteen with a group of willing friends. how many times I’ve trekked from the pavement of PCH to the shore, that lonnggg stretch of sand dappled with orange bottle caps and styrofoam and lost shoes and forgotten towels (abandoned structures). I even find beauty in that a little just because it’s always been part of it. and again, maybe divola has to do with that part also. His book, John Divola Three Acts was the first valuable art book I ever purchased. I was twenty one and poor as hell but it felt so worthy. I bought the book and propped it up face out like a piece of art in my room for years following and treated it like a super special thing. i watched many LA sunsets during that time as I lived in venice and was doing a lot of witch craft and my relationship with the ocean was at its peak. The sunsets were always a bit more beautiful than they already are because of his vision. this is me jumping in that water today as the sky was ghost purple then gold then pink then red then navy and everything beyond and the air remained hot. never let up to the cold as the dark came in. god I love it image description: me an abandoned structure with the sunset ether behind me