The Salton sea is a magnet for the weird. You've got a museum dedicated to bananas, a man-made religious mountain and this beacon of strange— East Jesus.
This one is a real doozy; at the most basic level, it's a refuge for artists to create and display some very elaborate art pieces, located in one of the most desolate areas in CA. At its most advanced, it's a desert community, the likes which we haven't seen since the free-wheeling 60s. Plus, despite the name, there's no religious connotation here at all.
The sculptures themselves are pretty incredible, and are made from every discarded piece of material under the sun. You've got stacks of TV's, bottle walls, burnt-out cars, refrigerators with smiling faces, and hulking towers made of old tires, to name a few. The theory "One man’s trash is another man’s treasure" is certainly on full display here.
But this isn't just your average sculpture garden, these folks are living here year round and grinding it out in the harsh living conditions of the desert.
I had the opportunity to chat with a group of them, and this place is truly a living nightmare for those who flourish in our tech obsessed, social media driven world. Below is the toilet they use, which says it all.
There's scant electricity, no running water and the closest town is many miles away. Nights are spent living in abandoned buses, wooden shacks or whatever else has been built out of the scraps left over from art creations. They're also fully reliant on each other, and their art projects, for company, resources and sanity. Oh yea, it’s also 100 degrees on any given day.
The area is like a mini society; you've got living quarters, outhouses, makeshift kitchens, mini concert halls, etc. It’s all pretty glorious, and very impressive.
Stop by, and get the art tour if someone’s willing to give it to you.
HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?
East Jesus came to life when founder Charlie Russell quit his tech job and decided that he wanted to create "The Last Free Place" on earth.
Ridding himself of all belongings, Russell originally migrated to the area hoping to help with the construction of Salvation Mountain. Once that fell through, he found some land and began laying the foundation for what would become an experimental art gallery in the desert.
With nothing but his two art cars in tow— yes, you heard that correctly, ART CARS— Charlie began building houses, a musical performance space and hospitality facilities on the land. Over time, the area would flourish, giving local artists an area to display their work and offering strangers a place to stay. Thus the art community know as East Jesus was born.
Although Charlie passed away in 2011, EJ is now overseen by a board of directors who keep his spirit alive, while continuing to encourage and curate recycled art.
