ALONG THE SHORE

Along the Shore

Bordering the Great Salt Lake of Utah, thousands of dead bird carcasses adorn the waterline. In an annual spring occurrence ten to twenty thousand bodies wash ashore after the long desert winter. The birds, victim to the illusionary depth of the lake’s fields of water, where they crash land or are stranded; this in association with the rising bird flu and the freezing temperatures of the salty lake, creates a plethora of floating corpses bobbing through the water over winter. This array of death, while seemingly a dramatic tragedy, is a natural part of the lake’s ecosystem. Along The Shore documents these found bodies elaborating on the oddity of the mass grave that is the lake’s beach, while also focusing on the ever growing shoreline that expands in its drying days. While the carcasses may be normal the widespread field of salt and sand that comes before it is not. With the lake’s constant loss of water, the carrion of the lake may expand past this annual event, into a further array of harm and death. The lake bares refuge to thousands of birds and sustains a delicate ecosystem in the desert of Utah. With its impending loss the air itself may turn against those who breath and sore through it, the weather patterns change, and the state may fall victim to a repeat dust bowl. Along The Shore presents a normal display of the cycle of life as a warning of the danger that can come from the disrespect of the land.