Ted Soqui
In an era of uproar over the cost of living in Los Angeles — “You Officially Have to Be Rich to Rent in L.A.” boomed an L.A. Weekly headline in July — a trickle of Angelenos are exploring a radical, rent-free alternative in Slab City. Beyond manicured Palm Springs and the featureless fields of the Coachella Valley, the increasingly toxic Salton Sea forms a dying mirror of the vast Colorado Desert sky, State Route 111 a thin thread of civilization between its apocalyptic abandoned resorts and the distant Chocolate Mountains.
For most Angelenos, this storied squatter community is an option extreme to the point of being hypothetical, yet “the Slabs” offer lessons for more affordable (and contented) living, even from afar. Read more in Paul Rogers' story.
Photographer Ted Soqui went to Slab City and photographed its denizens, its art installations and its unusual abodes.
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