Actions on the land
In Imagination of Salvation: Actions on the land, I worked with local partners from Al Azraq, a former desert oasis in Eastern Jordan that has been decimated by 30 years of groundwater over-pumping. As the oasis has dried, bird migration, fishing, and the transitional salt mining industry that sustained the community here have disappeared. The water that flows annually to Al Azraq, through Wadi Rajil from the rains in the Syrian mountains, brings dangerous flash floods and brief days of blooming, before disappearing into the sands. Yet visions of what Al Azraq once was, and could be, are stirring.
Through this work, I explore a visual lexicon to describe how mind, body, and heart-centered knowledge can support us to overcome a sense of powerlessness and take action for change. This project took place alongside an assessment of the potential for Managed Aquifer Recharge to refill the underground aquifer and for investment to revitalize the salt harvesting industry.