Showstopping land art

> The Desert X exhibition of 16 monumental works by international artists has attracted thousands to the Coachella Valley of Southern California

and reclaimed by the raw desert continuing on undeveloped into the horizon,” Aitken said.

The organisers of Desert X give only the latitude and longitude coordinates of the works and not their addresses, forcing visitors to search for them and discover little-known places along the way, like the Whitewater Preserve where art- seekers can find One I Call.

Sherin Guirguis’ sculpture, an ode to migration, is built from bags of earth and is modelled after traditional homing pigeon towers in the desert villages of her native Egypt.

Several other works also focus on the theme of migration, a timely and important topic in this region close to the Mexican border where President Donald Trump has vowed to build a “big, beautiful wall” to curb illegal immigration.

Swiss artist Claudia Comte created a wall in the desert, Curves and Zigzags, with undulating black lines that give the effect of an optional illusion.

Californian Phillip K. Smith planted a circular installation of 300 angled, vertical mirrored posts in the ground, calling it The Circle of Land and Sky.

“It’s a sort of a perimeter. I don’t think he necessarily conceived it that way but it is part of a conversation on boundaries,” said Wakefield. “The idea of border has resonated a lot with the artists in a number of ways.”

Monument, by Texan artist Will Boone, reproduces the underground nuclear shelter of former US president Kennedy during the Cold War era.

Visitors descend to find a painted, larger-than-life statue of the leader, assassinated in 1963.

The bunker speaks to many things that have become particularly pressing since the election of the current president,” said Wakefield, citing nuclear fears and “preppers” – members of a subculture preparing for apocalypse.

Since the beginning of time, he noted, the desert has exerted its pull on those who want to withdraw from the world – and in southern California, that includes stars from Hollywood’s golden age who flocked to Palm Springs to lose themselves in excess far from the paparazzi.

Norma Jeane’s ShyBot, an autonomous robotic vehicle, was designed to roam the desert while avoiding human contact. It has taken its mission seriously: it has gone missing. – AFP

Larger-thanlife artistic creations ... visitors to the Desert X exhibition are encouraged to seek out across the valley, these unique art installations such as (clockwise, from left) Mirage; One I Call; The Circle of Land and Sky; and (far left, inset) Curves and Zigzags.