The Ecology of Dreams

Ewan Telford

2022 — Los Angeles, USA

About this series

Los Angeles is said to be the most photographed city in the world, yet much of it remains unseen, or rather the city’s photographic record is subject to cliché. The last outpost of the West, LA might be described as the culmination of U.S. cultural history. The Ecology of Dreams is loosely about Los Angeles and environs, but it’s also a subjective vision of the United States. I wanted to capture something of the city’s inner space, its psychological landscape – not the L.A. of Tinseltown of sun and surf, as it is commonly (mis)understood, but rather a 21st Century megalopolis after forty + years of neoliberal capitalism: a city of corporate empires and militarised police forces, gated communities and environmental catastrophe. It is also a city of deep mystery and strange beauty, where wild animals roam the night and forked histories lead down occult corridors.
I use the notion of dreams in a broad sense and the project, which also makes extensive use of text, mixes documentary with history and fiction as well as personal observation. It follows a number of recurring and allusive narratives, such as local Native American history or the confluence of celebrity, spectacle and violence represented by the Patricia Hearst saga. It traces the hidden connections beneath the city’s surfaces; between Hollywood and the demonology of automobiles; between genocide and water.

Photographer: Ewan Telford
Nationality: Scottish
Based in: Los Angeles, USA – Mexico City
Website: www.ewantelford.com
Instagram: @ewantelford

Ewan grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland. Having studied literature and cinema, he moved to New York to work in the film industry, where he worked as a storyboard artist and art director for feature films. He also spent some time directing music videos and commercials.More recently Ewan has been using photography both for both commissioned and personal projects. His photo-text book, The Ecology of Dreams was published in 2022. He is currently at work on a book about Las Vegas and mass murder.He has made photographs and printed them since childhood.
Ewan currently lives between Los Angeles and Mexico City.