Eden Abandoned

Since the early 1970s, Rodeo Drive has stood as a symbol of international high-end shopping, celebrity encounters, and luxury sports cars. During the pandemic, this iconic two-mile stretch of American luxury was a five-minute walk from my new home in Beverly Hills. It became a familiar sight as I navigated and explored each new block of my new neighborhood.  As March of 2020 began I slowly began to see business closures until everything closed all at once on March 14th. Overnight, the world became liminal and filled with paranoia and fear.

In this image, I wanted to visualize the overnight changes I experienced in a capitalistic utopia like Beverly Hills. Heavy influences came from US currency and the early depictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.