Esha Chiocchio

In the late 1880s, when Euro-American settlers founded Lordsburg along the Southern Pacific Railroad line in the southwest corner of New Mexico, a sea of grass tickled their horses' bellies and provided ample feed for their growing herds of livestock. Yet, within a century, cattle had eaten the grass to the ground, and dust storms frequently enveloped Interstate 10, causing over forty fatalities along a twenty-mile stretch of highway since 1965.

   Facing this challenge, the New Mexico Department of Transportation embarked on an ambitious venture to restore the watershed's vitality and rejuvenate the land. A dedicated team is painstakingly reimagining drainages, imprinting the soil for improved water retention, sowing native and drought-tolerant seeds, and erecting fences to usher in a new era of thoughtful cattle management. It is an ambitious and hopeful project that strikes a chord in my stubbornly optimistic soul.

   Over nearly four years, I have photographed the transformation of this unique and fragile landscape, mostly from an aerial perspective. This allows me to highlight the interplay between natural formations and the unique imprints this restoration process creates. I see the soil as our most precious resource and the foundation for restoring balance and harmony to the land. Recently, the National Geographic Society awarded me an Explorer's Grant to continue this ongoing documentation.

For this exhibition, I selected large toned black and white aerial photographs that invite you to experience the details, nuances, and textures of the land’s natural and human-created forms. Color ground-based prints reveal a more literal perspective of being on the vast playa. A small group of prints on translucent paper backed with moon gold (a gold, silver, and platinum blend) - gives the land a luminance worthy of its profound importance to our collective future.

-Esha Chiocchio