TOBIAS ZIELONY
Trona
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| 'Lighter' |
In 2008, Berlin based photographer Tobias Zielony took a trip to Trona, Los Angeles, a place declared the '"armpit of America" by its own inhabitants.
Populated chiefly by crystal meth addicts, the impoverished desert land provides a clientele that Water White could only dream of, and fitted in perfectly with Zielony's devotion to photographing poor, marginalized groups in society.
Having previously rendered exhibitions from his visits to dilapidated areas of Liverpool, Naples and Marseilles, Zielony took to the more isolated, yet equally run-down town of Trona to reveal what happens when social and institutional structures fall apart, leaving people to their own devices.
The eighteen part series documents the lives of cavalier drug dealers, hop-headed youths and prison run-aways, exposing a flip-side to the American Dream.
Two Cigarettes
'Two Cigarettes', underlines the absurdity of Trona, as being purely uneconomical, a lavish wasteland, a place that ignores and lacks basic utilities, yet has a superfluous supply of amphetamines and narcotics.
Meanwhile 'Lighter' delves into the social structures formed in a town filled with self proclaimed junkies. The photo latches on to components closely resembling that of a family portrait in terms of composure. With the playfulness of the phallic lighter, the photo captures an element of affection and affinity between the subjects.
The focal part of the exhibition is perhaps the photo of Trona's desolate looking high street accompanied by a slideshow of quotes from one of the town's cynical inhabitants. The phrasing is so authentic that it seems genuinely difficult not to adopt an internal L.A drawl whilst reading them.
The dweller compares the town to 'Hiroshima after the bomb', revealing that convicts flee to the place because it's ultimately a no-mans land. Although he is wholly negative about the town, the way in which he talks of how he bought a house for a thousand bucks, and how his bike means he can have his pick of the high school girls, portrays Trona as a kind of twisted paradise. Ultimately, he ponders 'The crazy arabs might blow up Los Angeles, but Trona, who cares about Trona?'.
The eighteen part series documents the lives of cavalier drug dealers, hop-headed youths and prison run-aways, exposing a flip-side to the American Dream.
 |
| Two Cigarettes |
'Two Cigarettes', underlines the absurdity of Trona, as being purely uneconomical, a lavish wasteland, a place that ignores and lacks basic utilities, yet has a superfluous supply of amphetamines and narcotics.
Meanwhile 'Lighter' delves into the social structures formed in a town filled with self proclaimed junkies. The photo latches on to components closely resembling that of a family portrait in terms of composure. With the playfulness of the phallic lighter, the photo captures an element of affection and affinity between the subjects.
The focal part of the exhibition is perhaps the photo of Trona's desolate looking high street accompanied by a slideshow of quotes from one of the town's cynical inhabitants. The phrasing is so authentic that it seems genuinely difficult not to adopt an internal L.A drawl whilst reading them.
The dweller compares the town to 'Hiroshima after the bomb', revealing that convicts flee to the place because it's ultimately a no-mans land. Although he is wholly negative about the town, the way in which he talks of how he bought a house for a thousand bucks, and how his bike means he can have his pick of the high school girls, portrays Trona as a kind of twisted paradise. Ultimately, he ponders 'The crazy arabs might blow up Los Angeles, but Trona, who cares about Trona?'.
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