A Dryness Meeting a Wetness

a dryness meeting a wetness probes the inner thoughts of an ancient, hypersaline lake in the high desert of Lake County, Oregon. Inspired by conversations among local ranchers, land stewards and conservationists in the Partnership for Lake Abert and the Chewaucan (PLACe) about the potential for the lake to be granted “personhood” in order to protect its water levels, this piece presents the lake as a conscious being, combining speculative storytelling with underwater sound and footage gathered from Lake Abert. This unique body of water, which is an important stopover for migratory birds and a rich source of brine shrimp and alkali fly larvae, is at risk of desiccation from changing climate and water diversions from the Chewaucan River. Using a variety of microphones and cameras, I reveal aspects of the lake that are ordinarily invisible and inaudible, like the soft ticking sounds of aquatic invertebrates and plants. The lake, in turn, shares memories of an ancient, slimy friend, peers skeptically at me, a visiting artist on its shore, and confesses its passion for posting experimental horror fiction on Reddit using pilfered cell phones, including one it stole from me.

This project was made during a yearlong Wildfire+Water Residency at Playa Summer Lake in Lake County, OR in 2025-2026.

Feel free to share!