“From this point of view, hegemonic global urbanism is not only a source and symptom of economic crisis, it also connects to a crisis of authenticity. This crisis is seen and felt as an undesirable change in urban experience, representing a different regulation of both spaces and people, creating projects and dependencies on a larger scale, eliminating the means by which poor people and ethnic minorities produce their lives, and reducing the social and aesthetic diversity that has been a historical element of city life.” - Sharon Zukin, 2009
There are many discussions both in and out of academia about cities shifting from a physical location that is people and community centered into economic nodes with a global profile, mass gentrification, and the financialization of urban and public space. Southern California (specifically around Los Angeles) is a place of extremes - contrasting forces that shape the way landscape is interpreted and used. The experience of living within those spaces is filled with visual cues and reminders of the aggressive transformation that happens when financialized urban zones seep into residential ones, and monetary value is associated with physical elevation and proximity to, or distance from, the ocean.
The images in Real Land illustrate places where the perception of the landscape comes into contact with the natural world as it exists. It may show that there is a disruption, an incompatibility, between these ideas when placed into visual form the urban landscape.
Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2019
Pasadena, California 2018
Mt Washington, Los Angeles, California 2018
Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2019
Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
Mt Washington, Los Angeles, California 2019
Pomona, California 2018
Mt Washington, Los Angeles, California 2018
Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
Pasadena, California 2018
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Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
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Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
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Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2019
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Pasadena, California 2018
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Mt Washington, Los Angeles, California 2018
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Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
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Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2019
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Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
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Mt Washington, Los Angeles, California 2019
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Pomona, California 2018
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Mt Washington, Los Angeles, California 2018
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Bonelli Park, San Dimas, California 2018
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Pasadena, California 2018
Lorena Turner
Lorena Turner is a photographer, writer and educator.