A day trip dedicated to the Desert X Biennial

17 Apr 2023

The barren landscape of the Coachella Valley is the perfect site for large-scale art projects where artists are given agency to present their most ambitious creations. 

Torkwase Dyson's 'Liquid A Place'
Torkwase Dyson's 'Liquid A Place'
Rana Begum's 'No. 1225 Chainlink'
Rana Begum's 'No. 1225 Chainlink'
Matt Johnson's 'Sleeping Figure'
Matt Johnson's 'Sleeping Figure'

For the American version of this one-of-a-kind fair, which also has a Suadi Arabia edition, we traversed the desert landscape in search of the best 2023 Desert X presentations. 

One of the standout works was from Torkwase Dyson, whose large scale work graced PACE's New York gallery at the end of last year. In an interesting contrast to the landscape where the work existed. 

Dyson's Liquid A Place series invites viewers to reflect on the connection between our bodies and the water. In this iteration, Dyson presented a monumental sculpture that poetically meditates on the memory of water in both the body and the desert.

Another highlight we witnessed before our picnic at the end of our 3.5-hour journey was No.1225 Chainlink from Rana Begum. Begum's work subverts the symbolism of chain-link fences as a divisive and violent material through her use of colour and form in response to its ubiquitous presence in the Coachella Valley.

Matt Johnson's Sleeping Figure was one of the most picturesque presentations we, unfortunately, did not get to see. Cultivating a commentary on the supply chain economy, Sleeping Figure overlooks the Coachella Valley, reflecting the crumples and breaks of a distressed system. The sculpture gains local relevance from the approved siting of distribution centres, speaking to the invisible hand of globalism now at rest in the area.

You can still see Matt Johnson's massive picturesque sculpture until  June 19, as it is the last sculpture still on view from the Coachella Valley art fair.