Intermodal
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are not only among the busiest ports in the world, but they are also the largest port complex in the United States. Each year, they handle over 15 million cargo containers, which translates to over $300 billion worth of goods. The sheer scale of these operations is difficult to comprehend, with towering cranes that can lift and move cargo containers weighing over 100,000 pounds with ease and giant cargo ships the size of multiple football fields. Each day, these colossal ships arrive from all corners of the world, bringing with them an endless stream of commodities. The operations in these ports are simply massive, dwarfing the workers and machinery that move the containers from ship to shore.
The spectacle of these daily operations is both fascinating and concerning. On the one hand, the scale of the commerce, the efficiency and speed with which cargo is moved in and out of these ports, and the technological innovation that enables it are captivating. On the other hand, the environmental and social consequences of the globalized supply chains that these ports support are enormous. They are a testament to an architecture of power that exploits cheap labor forces in distant countries in order to feed affordable goods to one of the world's largest consumer societies.
The video "Intermodal" provides a minimalist portrayal of this critical yet awe-inspiring spectacle. Through its static shots of cargo ships being loaded and unloaded, the video highlights the overwhelming sense of anxiety that these operations can produce, while also inviting viewers to contemplate their complicity in a system that values profit margins, speed and efficiency over people and the planet.
Photo: Jonas Müller-Ahlheim
Video Stills
Salted Paper Prints
Accompanying the video is a series ofphotographic objects using the saltedpaper printing process. This 19th-centurytechnique adds a historic dimension to an installation that shows a system rooted incenturies of forceful colonial expansion. Thesaltwater used for sensitizing these printswas collected directly from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, embeddingthe material essence of the site into eachimage. While the video component offers aclose-up view of operations in the ports andintermodal freight system, the photographsshift perspective by capturing industrialmarine traffic hovering over the horizon ofserene seascapes. This contrast betweenproximity and distance highlights the vastscale of global shipping networks and theiromnipresence in everyday life. The pollutionof the collected water leaves faint traces on the prints, producing subtle chemicalreactions that form a connection to thesite, making visible the impact of industriallogistics.
