Monterey Park , California Western Waters . © Sant Khalsa , 2000 – 2002 . Courtesy of the artist and Kopeikin Gallery , Los Angeles .
“ I was drawn to these places because I thought the whole thing was absurd . I felt in a lot of ways immigrants were being taken advantage of ,” she says . “ Somehow people thought that these were natural sites , that if they went to these places to get their water , they would be closer to nature . And they would be healthier . But this is a business with a brand .”
Thus began Khalsa ’ s yearlong project spent photographing over 200 retail water stores in Arizona , New Mexico , Southern California , and Nevada . Sixty final photographs were completed in 2002 , and the 2010 installation at the Art Gallery at Azusa Pacific University in Southern California presented them as a geographical mapping of Khalsa ’ s personal pilgrimage .
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