When the Los Angeles Aqueduct was completed in 1913, it diverted much of the Owens Valley’s water to the rapidly growing city of LA. This redirection of a vital resource dramatically reshaped the environment and economies of both regions. 

In agriculture, deadstock refers to animals no longer viable for production; in retail, it describes a surplus of unsold inventory. Deadstock Valley speaks to both – taking the form of a shop selling goods and artifacts from the valley’s past, it seeks to ask: 

When do a region’s resources belong to its inhabitants—and what is lost when they don’t?