THE LAKE PROJECT (2001-2004)
David Maisel’s landscapes have been seriously damaged by human actions. Because they have been photographed form the air, they look surrealistic and spectacular. At the same time, at a glance it is clear just how serious the damage is. In 2001 Maisel began to record Owens Lake, THE LAKE PROJECT (2001-2004). This once covered more than two hundred square kilometers. In 1926 it almost dried up when its water was diverted to Los Angeles. The fertile vicinity changed into a barren landscape, and through its unusually high concentration of minerals the remaining water took on a red tinge. In order to combat the sandstorms that resulted from the drainage, in mid-2001 the area was again flooded. For a second time a new landscape was created as the result of large-scale human intervention.
