Avital Oehler

About The Artwork

Alluviam 09, 2022, Enlarged scan from film

Alluviam 10, 2022, Enlarged scan from film

Alluviam 22, 2022, Enlarged scan from film

Alluviam 09, 10, and 22 are all images from the same series, In Search of Alluvium. At first, I wanted the Los Angeles River to tell the story I wanted to tell - about trash, neglect, and the inhumanity of it all. But at some point, I instead allowed the river to speak for itself while I captured it. When I started to listen and see the river as it wanted to be seen, I realized that the river was speaking of acceptance and incorporation, and that all the “ugly” things that were found at the River—namely, homelessness and trash from runoff of suburbia and industry—were things that the river humbly and non-judgmentally took in, turning this “stuff” (or alluvium) into parts of the river itself. In Search of Alluvium is an intimate conversation between the river and I, that incorporates analog and digital photography to convey this ongoing dialogue.