At the start of the COVID pandemic, I found myself newly moved to Puerto Rico, heartbroken and alone. My partner and I had come to the island together—but after our breakup, I knew I had to get away. So I flew to the desert, slept in my car, and wandered through Joshua Tree and the Mojave with a 35mm camera and no real plan—just a need to move, to feel something different, to find myself again.

Strangely, I had loaded my camera with a film stock called Bubblegum—bright, dreamy, and full of pinks and blues. At the time, I wasn’t particularly happy. But looking back, I guess I was already on my way.

The photos are untouched: just raw analog film, flares, and the strange hope of a landscape that didn’t ask me to explain myself. I later self-published the series as a limited-edition photobook on Blurb.