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Untitled (Entry Archway) by Charlie Russell and Royce Carlson on display in East Jesus, Slab City

And we are back on the road! This time, for are are traveling for some human-made scenery: the open air art gallery or East Jesus, in Slab City.

We have written about Slab City before: it is a squatter community on contested land by the Salton Sea. The name is derived from concrete slabs left by a long-gone military base. If your camper is parked on a Slab, it likely means you have been a resident of this City of wanderers, artists, anarchists, survivalists, and misfits for a long, long time. Maybe back to the original migration to Slab City. After all, Slab City was established when an earlier squatter community was evicted from land outside of Palm Springs.

What has evolved here is a culture of independence, mixed with a scavenger spirit, open to whatever the desert may bring. This is best expressed in the artwork of the community. Works are mostly composed of scraps collected around the encampment. Everyone is welcome to walk about, explore, and engage.

East Jesus Art Garden

The East Jesus Art Garden is a collaborative effort. The Garden features the work of many different artists all working with found materials. As expressed in the community’s website, the Garden focuses on “low-tech solutions, unresolved theories, non-linear advancement, and creative reuse.” While, occasionally artists will focus on a single material, a constant theme of the garden is the recycling of discarded goods. Even in the middle of the desert, East Jesus artists have plenty to work with. The result: create whimsical structures, art cars, and interactive sculptures.

To cowboys’s delight, we park, nose to nose, across from a grounded aluminum plane. All our time riveting has nurtured a fascination with other aluminum vehicles. These two have so much in common!

Man’s Vices by Frank Redford on display in East Jesus, Slab City
Man’s Vices Frank Redford

TV WALL by Flip Cassidy on display in East Jesus, Slab City
TV WALL Flip Cassidy
Flying car on display in East Jesus, Slab City
Cadiwac
Royce Carlson
Hole In Corner by Joe Holliday on display in East Jesus, Slab City
Hole In Corner Joe Holliday

Untitled (Entry Archway) by Charlie Russell and Royce Carlson on display in East Jesus, Slab City
Untitled (Entry Archway) Charlie Russell and Royce Carlson

Lexi lives in a truck camper down by the river.

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