Silver print
20 x 20 inches framed
NFS
Sant Khalsa is an artist and activist whose artworks derive from a mindful inquiry into complex environmental and societal issues. Her curatorial and community-based projects are integral to her art practice—bringing artists together with experts in science, history, conservation, and other fields for multidisciplinary research and production. Her photographic, mixed media, and installation works are widely exhibited, published, and acquired by museums including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Getty, Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, and Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, among others. Khalsa has been awarded fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Humanities, and California Art Council including the prestigious 2023-2024 California Art Council Individual Artist Fellowship (Legacy Level). Her artworks are published in two monographs Crystal Clear || Western Waters: Photographs by Sant Khalsa (Minor Matters Books, 2022) and Sant Khalsa - Prana: Life with Trees (Griffith Moon/MOAH Lancaster, 2019) and many compilation books. She is Professor of Art, Emerita at California State University, San Bernardino and lives in Joshua Tree, California. santkhalsa.com, @santkhalsaartist
My artworks derive from an impassioned inquiry into the nature of place and its many complex environmental and societal issues. It is my intention that the works create a contemplative space where one can sense the subtle and profound connections between themselves, the natural world, and our constructed landscapes. The works evolve through research and personal experiences within the sites that I explore, responding to the evidence of change brought by natural occurrences and human interventions. The photograph is the visual artifact of my intimate relationship with place - my observations, perceptions, and interpretations.
My first experience with Joshua trees was in the summer of 1973, when I moved West. I was not only quite taken by how unique Joshua trees were, compared to the trees I grew up with in New York, but overwhelmed by the beauty of their habitat. I was amazed by the Mojave Desert—its vastness, diverse plant and animal life, constantly changing light and color, unique energy and enormous star filled skies. I visited the trees, especially in the Joshua Tree National Monument (now National Park) over the decades until 2010 when I finally decided to relocate to Joshua Tree and live with the trees.
Over the past 15 years, I have witnessed changes to Joshua trees and their environment due to climate change, fires, development, industrial solar, and increased visitation to the National Park, all of which negatively impact these extraordinary beings. The once vibrant trees are feeling the stresses of increased temperatures, reduced rainfall, and invasive species, both human and more-than-human.
My self-portrait Vishuddha, made in 1994, includes a photograph of Joshua trees in my mouth. Vishuddha is the Sanskrit word for the throat chakra and signifies expressing oneself through truth, purpose, creativity, and individuality. This performative photographic work represents a significant time in my life of huge personal changes and my commitment to environmental art and activism, which often finds me speaking for trees.