“Gene Autry Trail is a busy road that bisects the Coachella valley on a north-south axis,” Jennifer explains. “The road travels between wilderness to the north, and civilization, (the city of Palm Springs) to the south.
“It’s a very flat, desolate area with nothing but sand and scrub to the east and west, with numerous billboards lined up in a row competing for attention with the beckoning views of the mountains.”
Jennifer’s project plays with the idea of distraction. Usually, these billboards have big, bold commercials trying to barge into drivers’ thoughts. In her hands though, the billboards become quiet, contemplative and respectful. Once noticed, they immediately redirect attention to the surroundings. In that sense, they are anti-adverts.
“I have an abiding interest in transitional zones and things on the periphery of attention,” she explains. “This project draws attention to the transition between the built and natural environment, between direct and mediated experience, between here and there, expectation and memory.”