Using photography, video and performance, artist Scott Polach examines the current practices surrounding water use in the Southwest. Photographed along the route of the canals and pipelines that bring water to San Diego from the Colorado River, his series Laying Claim focuses on the manipulation of water sources and its impact on San Diego’s landscape. The gestural painted lines on the photographs reference the division and allocation of this natural resource through San Diego County’s inland areas. His video Make ‘em Hum #081714 was created during the 2014 drought and draws upon the history of artificial rainmaking or pluviculture. By transporting saved bath water in balloons to a dry reservoir and performing his own rain-making rituals, Polach explores water use as something functional, sublime, and absurd.

Terminal 2 East, Post-Security, Gate 28