In 2019 Jim Toia was invited to BoxoPROJECT, a residency at the foot of Joshua Tree National Park. Toia was intrigued by the alien landscape and upon investigation found an opportunity to make work about the desert while also bringing light to the fragile environment.

The resulting work focused on Biological Desert Crust, ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_soil_crust ) a thin layer of living organisms living symbiotically in a thin layer on the desert floor. These organisms, microscopic moss, lichen, algae, mycelium and other organic compounds, weave together over decades to create a protective carpet for the desert which prevents soil erosion, sequesters large amounts of carbon in the earth, and gives purchase to other organisms so the desert ecosystem can flourish.

As the desert environment grows more and more populated this crust becomes increasingly threatened by unknowing visitors who compromise its stability. Toia saw an opportunity to both create a new body of work using imagery of this dynamic microcosm, while also highlighting its potential demise with the hope of educating the public before too much of the desert floor is jeopardized.

The Cryptohomogenized Series employs boulder forms found in the Mojave Desert around Joshua Tree and BoxoPROJECTS, www.boxoprojects.com. Toia takes molds of these forms using organic materials such as mulberry paper, peels the form off the boulder and then pastes additional mulberry paper with biological crust imagery on the reconstructed forms, covering both the outside of the boulder and the hollow space within. The result is a striking visual and physical experience where the boulder form announces itself and commands its presence while at the same time denying itself, as photographic images suggests deep three dimensional space, a beguiling conundrum.