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Bodélé

Sculpture/ Digital Collage/ Video 2012. iMOCA

 

The body of work that makes up Bodélé was inspired by sand from the Bodélé Depression, which is one of the world’s driest places, located near Lake Chad which is on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert in north central Africa. The Depression produces dust storms approximately 100 days per year on average. Recent studies have proven that the Bodélé Low Level Jet, the name given to the strong winds that flow through the region, is responsible for depositing over half of the nutrients needed for fertilizing the Amazon Rainforest. Thus, due to this dry, barren area we have one of the most life-nourishing spots on the planet.

 

Bodélé is made up of digital collages that look photographic, but are actually hand-rendered through a three-dimensional modeling program. Within the collages are macro-scale grains of sand as well as items that represent the transportation of other objects: palettes, cardboard boxes, crates and oil drums. There are also skeletons which represent the underlining structure which allows for the human body to bear itself. Priest relates these items to the grains of dust from the Bodélé Depression which also act as carriers of life.

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