California / كالفورنيا,
2024

Ali Eyal, David Horvitz
California / كالفورنيا
Digital photos printed on Luster paper. Diptych
Dimension variable

This photo is a still from a video showing the words California and “كاليفورنيا” (the state’s name in Arabic) being written in sand. The etymology of this name is significant, not only because both artists are based there, but because California comes from the Arabic language via Spanish. A collaboration between Horvitz and Eyal, recorded by Samar Al Summary, the film captures the moment when both artists inscribed these words on a beach in Los Angeles. As the waves wash over the sand, the writing gradually fades away, symbolizing how divisions of place and discourse are inexorably erased by the landscape itself.