Mare Island
Mare Island, as it is today, is beautiful. It is a hybrid landscape, between industry and nature. There is a blurring of borders, a loss of order, a melancholic feeling that hangs heavy over the ground. The natural is reclaiming its territory. The solidity of the military infrastructure has become brittle in face of the unyielding forces of nature. Decomposition is pervasive. This decay has generated a landscape of new forms, orderings, and aesthetics. It is both languid and expectant, dystopian and utopian. The intense contrast of colors and textures create an ethereal landscape, one that is both natural and artificial, familiar and foreign. It could be argued that Mare Island should be left alone in its dereliction. Any interruption of the natural processes of growth and decay would be a violent act upon the site. It could be argued that its beauty lies in its abandonment, the lack of everyday life that allows the memories of the past to predominate. But development is underfoot and these spaces, stuck so beautifully between past, present, and future, will soon be forgotten.
These photographs were taken as part of my masters thesis looking at the ecological, cultural, and planning considerations of decommissioned military bases.
