PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Drought, wildfires and lack of affordable housing are issues that continue to intensify in California. They are also themes at the center of photographer Thomas Broening’s billboard art project “The End of the Dream.”
Driving along Interstate 10 and around high-traffic streets, residents and tourists can spot some of the eight billboards in the Coachella Valley with Broening’s photographs of dry land, burnt trees and squalor.
Broening began taking the photos used in his art project about two years ago, unsettled by the economic disparity and homeless encampments he’s witnessed in San Francisco, and also the raging wildfires near the city in September 2020, in which “the sun didn’t come out for a day,” he said.
He said he selected all of the areas that house his billboard art in an attempt “to pick a diverse or a wide range of cities, in terms of demographics and climate and everything else.”
“I put that together, along with the drought, and I thought, ‘Why don’t I do a project and look at these three issues and see how they’re tied together?'” Broening said.
West Coast heat wave:About 50 million people warned of extreme heat; wildfires prompt evacuations
Before deciding on billboards, Broening considered showing his work in a more typical manner — at a gallery or putting together a photography book.
“I started thinking about who looks at these things, the galleries and photo books, and it’s mostly other photographers like me. You could look me up: I’m bearded, I’m white, I’m 53 years old. Is that the audience I want? Maybe not. I wanted to reach as broad of an audience as I could in California,” he said.
Besides Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs and Cathedral City, Broening said some billboards are on display in Northern California. He hopes his art will push people to acknowledge the pervasive issues.
Will it get worse? Yes, experts say. Nearly half the US has endured a drought in 2022.
Drought:Lost villages, ancient ruins, WWII ships uncovered as extreme heat lowers water levels
Broening emphasized that his project is not meant to be political, but rather eye opening, saying that he does not blame any one political party for the current state of California as drought, wildfire and housing issues have been building “for decades.”
“I’ve lived in California for 30 years, and this is not the California that I moved to 30 years ago,” said Broening, who is originally from Maryland.
Broening hopes to expand his project with funding support from art foundations and the public.
Follow Eliana Perez on Twitter: @ElianaPress.