Capturing the Void: Michael Light’s Aerial Photographs of the American West

Abstract

In 2017 and 2018, the California-based photographer Michael Light went to the Great Basin, allegedly one of the emptiest places left in the continental United States, in search of the void. He returned with striking and aesthetically pleasing images of a desert that is far from empty. Working collaboratively with his colleagues at Radius Books, Light realized the series and photobook Lake Lahontan / Lake Bonneville (2019). In this work, Light employs the unique combination of aerial perspective and photographic abstraction to capture images of the Great Basin that challenge our perception of empty spaces, the desert, and the American West. Light’s images emphasize the paradoxical effect of humans on the environment while leaving space for interpretation. The work opens the viewer to larger questions about the impact all humans have on the earth, inevitably prompting viewers to recognize their own role in the process.