Palisade
Santa Monica, September 2021-Present

Palisade is an ongoing project focusing on the Palisades Park, a collection of manicured landscapes that stretches along the Santa Monica Bluffs.

This project draws from the etymological root of “palisade” that comes from French palissade, a “picket fence.” In this project, I contend with limits and, more specifically, the crumbling boundaries of an idealized place.

When I arrived in Los Angeles in October 2019, the first place I visited was the Pacific Ocean. As someone who grew up surfing, I was viscerally attracted to this water body. I wanted to feel its presence and energy. I noticed lines of surf coming in the bay, the distant mountains, and the immaculate cobalt blue sky.

However, what struck me the most were the Santa Monica Bluffs. Their exposed geology was a reminder that below the surface of Los Angeles' sprawl, eons of geological time had formed the terrain on which sit large swaths of the city.

The Palisades Park is a place of enormous social contrasts as well. Tourists from all over take selfies with the Santa Monica Pier in the background while homeless people find temporary respite by laying in the sun.