Elias Paulson

Born as a reaction to and framed around the Bakken oil boom in Eastern Montana and North Dakota, Badlands explores themes of family, greed, nostalgia and masculinity. This project considers the complex relationships between these four themes while also questioning and illuminating the powerful and destructive qualities of the latter two. The result is part family photo album, part bad dream, an immersive short film, and a series of etchings. The story lingers in the air alongside your fondest memory, evoking thoughts about what it might mean for a country to be "made great again."