East Jesus is a section of land within Slab City.  Its art garden features complex and fascinating works made by residents using an assortment of found materials.  Before discussing the art style, take a look for yourself!

     East Jesus was officially created by Charlie Russell in 2007.  He had come to Slab City to help work on Salvation Mountain, and ended up creating this art park instead.  There are fewer people living in East Jesus than Slab City "proper," and the idea of the art park is to rotate installations over time, with a strict requirement that new inhabitants demonstrate they can bring something new and positive to the community.  Sustainability is important here; there is no running water, plumbing, or electricity, which means that each resident must be mindful of resources.

     The art of East Jesus can be described as bricolage.  The term can be understood as "do-it-yourself," and when used to describe art it refers to the use of non-traditional materials, which perfectly describes the style seen here.  According to Anna Dezeuze (2008), the style's connection to and reliance on such materials is perfect for "the exploration of wider issues of materiality, commodification, and consumerism in capitalist and increasingly globalized societies," largely due to its basis in found consumer goods (35).  And further, Patricio del Real (2008) proposes that "hidden in every material object, within a generalized system of repression, is a soft emancipation, an escape without leaving" (89).  This refers to the nature of consumer products to project their own cultural meanings.  He asserts that bricolage, with its use of this kind of cultural meaning or language, represents a critique of that language.

     From these perspectives, the method by which these pieces are created could be seen as equally important to the finished product, especially considering some of the materials are gleaned at great risk from an active artillery testing site.

     Before East Jesus came about, there was another very prominent example of bricolage artwork looming near the entrance to the city.  This is known as Salvation Mountain.