Bombay Beach Biennale

The Bombay Beach Biennale is a celebration of art, music, and philosophy that takes place each year on the literal edge Western Civilization, at the shores of the Salton Sea. Within the limits of the town, around 500 locals, artists, builders, creators, and volunteers were invited to explore and stumble upon the abandoned houses and vacant lots that served as a canvas for many artists. Ulrich Grill has recorded the buzz with his Leica SL.

Please tell us more about the Bombay Beach Biennale. What is this event and what was driving you there?

BBB is an underground arts festival that takes place in the former resort on the Salton Sea in Southern California. Only 500 guests are invited. My friend Mark Mack is one of the organizers and told me about it. One reason why I wanted to take a closer look.

What did you want to capture with your pictures?

It is the tension between a completely abandoned and forgotten place, but art brings it back to life. The motto of the event stands for the following: "In the name of weirdness" freely translated "in the name of obliqueness", which then came true.

Why were you traveling with the SL?

The whole package is awesome for taking professional pictures. The SL is incredibly fast and can be used super. And with the excellent electronic viewfinder I miss no motive. I love solid cameras that are full in the hand and that can still trigger very quietly in low light conditions.

What do you take away from the Biennale?

Creativity manifests itself in different forms of expression. This is particularly evident at BBB. BBB is beautiful, weird, disturbing, funny, different and infinitely inspiring.


Equipment: Leica SL mit Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90mm f/8-4 Asph.

More information about the festival can be found here.