Hidden in the sandy plains of California’s Sonoran Desert lies a place like no other. On the north-eastern shore of the Salton Sea is America’s lowest community at 68 meters below sea level. This place is called Bombay Beach - and it’s home to just a few hundred people.
Once a year however, the small town is transformed by local artists into a vibrant, three-day festival called the Bombay Beach Biennale. This cultural melting pot leaves behind it a lifelong legacy of creativity, even as the manmade lake surrounding it slowly disappears.
On hand to witness the wildness was COOPH’s very own founder Ulrich Grill. Armed with a Leica SL and a 24-90mm lens, Ulrich's documentation of the festivities resulted in a series of surreal and atmospheric photographs that perfectly capture this cultural phenomenon.
Bombay Beach, as Ulrich describes it: “is the coming together of the weird and the wonderful in a very psychedelic way. I met some really nice locals who want to live off the grid where they won't be judged. It’s a place you can express yourself in whatever way you want. My strategy was to shoot in different light conditions; early morning with no people, midday with harsh contrasts and also during the late afternoon light when it was busier.
