«Sweet Domino fell in love with California and I with her when we met one night at a bar in East Los Angeles» – Talulah Brown and Domino Leaha on a friendship blossoming
Domino Leaha for Lampoon
Hunting for Gold – Talulah Brown
The city is burning. We sip tea in my mother’s garden and discuss how surreal the sky is.
It looks like acid. On the news we are advised not to go outside for several days, but we do anyway. The ash dances with violence. Jack fills our house with air purifiers and by dusk I am used to the apocalyptic lull of it all.
The orange haze hangs heavy over strip malls in the valley. I weave my way down Mulholland slowly. Susie calls; she spent the night on wet sand amid sirens and horses and pigs running for their lives. I picture her home in Malibu where she and her three grown sons live. The empty lot next door – I used to play in a as a child – long demolished by mudslides remains empty. In my memory, salt sticks to my hands and hair and chaps my lips so bad, I don’t notice when I cut my feet on the gravel. Susie does so she dabs them with alcohol and sends me back tohe beach – in her golf cart – where tar will seal my cuts.
The memories and sensations
The car behind me swerves and I pull to the side. The wind picks up, there is tension and heat in its movement, it’s enough to knock me over. The chamomile in the passengers seat is wilting. I call Madison. We discuss building a commune on her grandmother’s land in Texas. Her uncle moved in after Memaw Patsy passed but the property is big enough for us all to have our own little corner. Uncle Big Orange spends his time fostering kittens who give birth near his house and hunting for gold that’s yet to be dug up. There are more cars than one could drive – not working – but they give the land a hopeful feeling, like they could start up any day and rumble across the farm’s dry-bed creek. There’s something comforting in all those broken down vehicles.
The radio in my car goes on and on; Big Sur is on fire again, the sky is acid, and there’s ash in our tea.
The story of surrounding
Domino Leaha
Italian photographer. Domino Leaha captures intimate moments with her subjects showcasing personal and raw images. Her use of light, color and shadow also adds layers to the images.
Editorial Team
