New exhibition at Edition: It Was Kind Of Like This by Cara Stricker
17 November, 2010
It Was Kind Of Like This is a collection of photographs shot over the course of seven days spent in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert during Burning Man, 2010.
Cara Stricker’s images seek to explore the irony of the human experience within a natural, almost post-apocalyptic landscape. A space which is removed from commodity-driven communities. Burning Man’s ethos is anti-conformist. The images reflect the climate created by this ethos while also portraying individual expressions of time and personal journeys. All shot on film, the pictures remain unchanged and ‘naked’ to tell their own story.
It Was Kind Of Like This, the book, is now available for purchase in-store at Edition as well as via our online store. Selected prints from the exhibition will also be displayed in-store until November 24th, and are available for purchase (edition of 3 prints).
We chatted with Cara about her crazy time at Burning Man...
Above: Phone Sex $685 1491mm x 2175mm, edition of 3 shop here
Tell us about your trip to Burning Man?
It was kind of hard to explain. A combustion of all your culture clash dreams put on a hotplate and grounded in the middle of the desert. And then you can chase them round and jump on them to take you around the endless abyss of the desert. I say its like a dream because the festival is made up little industrial fragments that make up the world as we know it, yet are taken out of contact and fused to create an almost post post apocalyptic landscape
How was the experience of doing away with all currency and bartering the whole time you were there?
A lot of preparation was involved yet, once you get there, you hardly even notice it. Your in the middle of the desert, walking for 20 minutes now, and someone hands you a box telling you this is made for you. Its less bartering more about giving. I guess all social communication barriers break down, and the tens of thousands of people fuse together to create an energy.
What’s the reasoning behind all of the nakedness? This must have created some uncomfortable sunburn in the desert?
The nakedness is hardly noticeable while your there. The majority nudist walk around with tops on and no pants. Set amongst an atmosphere amongst the naked environment, it only seems natural that the people whom created this reflection of themselves, also are naked. They celebrate the raw form of self. Yet theres a LOT of sand....
Tell us your favourite story behind one of the images from the exhibition?
A day of bike riding into a wall of sand that never lifts further than 10 meters ahead was definitely my favourite day. People are seperated by the sandstorm, and every so often i was catapulted from the pegs of a bike whilst someone flies into you from the middle of nowhere. I turn around and and stare into the sand blanket and out pop an old couple with a star wars esq car. They appear and disappear. I giggled and took a photo.
Above: Old Couple $685 1491mm x 2175mm, edition of 3 shop here
The Women $685 1491mm x 2175mm, edition of 3 shop here
Image source: Cara Stricker
Posted by jenna dunne ...
