In Photos: Bombay Beach Biennale 2019

Last week the Bombay Beach Biennale returned for its fourth festival, taking over the Salton Sea with a series of eclectic art installations, performances, film screenings, talks, and much more. Over the course of three days, the Bombay Beach Biennale transforms the nearly abandoned town into a stunning artistic landscape, once known as a popular destination in Southern California. Since then, a series of environmental issues have resulted in a decay of the man-made lake and its surroundings. The Biennale serves to bring attention to the ecological disaster that plagues the town, hoping to eventually revitalize it to its former glory. Both residents and travelers alike attend the festival each year to celebrate the area and bring a jolt of cultural energy to it, with many installations becoming permanent fixtures. Though it’ll be a year before you can attend the next Biennale, we’ve compiled some of the highlights from this year featuring both new and old works—many of which will still be in the town the next time you decide to stop by.

As Above, So Below by Wanda Orme [Photo: Wanda Orme]

Bombay Beach Disco Lighthouse by Shigley & Ruspoli [Photo: Tao Ruspoli]

Opera House by James Ostrer, Stefan Ashkenazy [Photo: Tao Ruspoli]

SHOWTOWN by Stefan Ashkenazy [Photo: Gregg Pichler]

[Photo: Scott Pasfield]

Icelandic Pavilion- Water Molicube by Scott Fitzel [Photo: Scott Pasfield]

Museum Number Two by Moral Turgeman [Photo: Moral Turgeman]

[Photo: Tao Ruspoli]

Atlantis Inn by Marco Walker & Tomek Sadurski [Photo: Robert A. Di Ieso]

Scrying A Blue Future by Timothy Uriah Steele [Photo:Timothy Uriah Steele]

The Only Other by Midabi [Photo: Scott London]

[Photo: Stefano Canavesio]

Museum Number Two by Moral Turgeman [Photo: Moral Turgeman]

LODESTAR by Randy Pulombo [Photo: Scott London]

Dream Demon by Melody Sample [Photo: Melody Sample]

RESURRECTOR by Mads Christensen / Yarger Projects [Photo: Mads Christensen]

[Photo: Josephine Wister Faur]

[Photo: Frank Martinez]

Palletial Gallery of Almost Spheres by Anna Meloyan [Photo: Anna Meloyan]

SHOWTOWN by Stefan Ashkenazy [Photo: Daniel Gerstenhaber(Gersh)]