Once a gleaming inland idyll, 150 km north-east of San Diego, California’s Salton Sea has since turned toxic. Its tourist appeal as depleted as its hyper-saline waters, the now-faded former resort is threatened with ecological collapse, releasing noxious chemicals into the air around it and compromising the health of those who live along its shores.

For director Matt Baron, the pervasive bleakness of Salton Sea serves as both location and inspiration for short film, Erosion. Catalysing the idea of change and transformation – through highs and lows –, as indicative of life itself, Baron approaches Salton Sea’s rise and fall as a symbol of the processes we go through to take on unexpected events that occur. Embracing natural light and graphic shadows, the film’s location led him to striking spaces, scouted just days ahead of the shoot, playing to the theme of degradation and collapse. 

A story of love and loss, shot with a skeleton crew of three friends, Erosion traces the cycle of grief through the eyes of a young man while he copes with the passing of his partner. Reliving their relationship’s emotional highs, and at times tumultuous nature, through vivid visual interludes, the film captures a holistic picture of grief, filtered through the multi-faceted – and often conflicting – interpersonal experiences that preface loss.