In the realm of contemporary photography, the lens of Mercedes Dorame offers a unique perspective, currently showcased at The Huntington’s Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art. As a Tongva photographer deeply rooted in the Los Angeles area, Dorame’s exhibition, “Everywhere Is West,” invites viewers to reconsider their understanding of place, time, and history, particularly within the context of Indigenous landscapes.
One compelling piece from this series, Algae Portal—Shooxar Tukuupar, encapsulates Dorame’s artistic vision. Captured in the spring of 2022 on Santa Cruz Island, this photograph plunges the viewer into a tide pool teeming with life. The image frames crystalline water against algae-covered rocks in rich greens and browns, evoking the rhythmic ebb and flow of the tides. Through the clear water, a detailed microcosm unfolds, revealing crushed shells, stones, and barnacles clinging to rock clusters. This intimate view provides a powerful sense of both ancient origins and delicate fragility.
For Dorame, this experience on the Channel Islands was transformative. Growing up in Los Angeles, she felt a profound connection to these landscapes, yet also a sense of temporal disorientation. “There was a disorientation with time, a sense of a deep familiarity but at the same time an unfamiliarity—a shift of perspective,” Dorame reflects. This sentiment highlights a key theme in her work: uncovering the layers of history embedded within the land, challenging conventional, often colonialist, perceptions of the West.
The title “Everywhere Is West,” initially presented at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art before moving to The Huntington, reflects Dorame’s evolving relationship with concepts of direction and place. For her, “west” was once simply the coastline of Los Angeles, a point of origin. However, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on the Channel Islands, the cardinal directions shifted, and “west” lost its associations with Manifest Destiny and territorial expansion. Instead, it transformed into a space rich with historical depth and ancestral memory. Mercedes Dorame’s exhibition at Huntington provides a valuable opportunity to engage with these profound themes through the captivating medium of photography.
