The biennial Desert X has returned to California’s Coachella Valley for its 2025 edition. The artists featured this year offer fresh perspectives on a world increasingly shaped by human presence. For many, this manifests as an exploration of time within spaces where ancestral wisdom converges—and sometimes clashes—with contemporary visions of our shared future. As the most tangible marker of human transformation, architecture serves as the foundation for numerous projects, ranging from pavilion-like structures to more understated forms.

I was able to view six of the installations during a recent visit. First up, Sarah Meyohas’s poetic and immersive installation, Truth Arrives in Slanted Beams, which explores “caustics”—light patterns created by the refraction or reflection of light through curved surfaces. Evoking ancient timekeeping devices like sundials and paying tribute to 20th-century land art, the installation transforms a naturally occurring optical effect, often seen at the bottom of a swimming pool, into an interactive experience. Using advanced light-shaping technology, visitors can direct sunlight onto a flowing, ribbon-like structure that weaves across the desert floor.

Desert X 2025 is on display through May 11. More information can be found here: https://desertx.org/

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