Roughly six thousand large antelopes native to Africa live on the White Sands Missile Rangein southern New Mexico. Once small in number, these oryx haveproliferated and make foran unexpectedsight with their giant bodies, striking black and white faces, and long, spear-like horns. What are theoryxdoing in New Mexico? Las Cruces-based photographer,Marcus Xavier Chormicle’s research of the animals has informed his oryx photographyseries. The oryx series was the focus of Chormicle’s work during his New Mexico Artsresidency at Lincoln Historic Site in the spring of 2024. He joinedEncounter Culturetoshare what he has learned about the history of the oryx in the state and how his project hashelped him wrestle with the complicated questions that arise from the animals’presence.
“It’s a very complicated thing that there’s not a lot of right answers for.[…]I think that thisproject and these photographsand documentary photography is really good at being ableto kind of tug at the nuance,”Chormicle says.“The photographs I’ve tried to make arehopefully nuanced enough to[…]bring the trickiness of it more to the forefront of theconversation and, and tomaybe help others progress their thoughts around it.”
Mentioned in this Episode:
Marcus Xavier Chormicle photography
Deep Springs photography book by Sam Contis
Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University
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Mentioned in this Episode:
Marcus Xavier Chormicle photography
Deep Springs photography book by Sam Contis
Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University
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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is
produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.
Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine
Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann
Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz
Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe
Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler
Associate Producer & Editor: Monica Braine (Assiniboine/Lakota)
Theme Music: D’Santi Nava
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