Guillaume Zuili

/ Guillaume Zuili (France, 1965) lives

in Los Angeles, where he works for various

French media, including Libération and Le

Monde. Since 1992 he has been a member

of the French photo agency Agence VU’. He

has travelled extensively through India and

has published two books about the French

settlements there, Les anciens comptoirs

français de l’Inde (1992) and Pondichéry

(2003). In the mid-1990s he turned his attention

to Europe and charted the structures

and complexities of major European

cities. Since moving to Los Angeles he has

occupied himself with recording what he

calls ‘the Californian myth’.

Foreclosure Alley (2009) is a photo series

about the Inland Empire gated community

near Los Angeles. Such communities are

only open to residents and their guests and

often have numerous private facilities, such

as shops and schools. When Inland Empire

was built a few years ago, it was supposed

to be a fulfilment of the American dream.

Thanks to the economic crisis, however,

there have meanwhile been an enormous

number of evictions and many houses are

standing empty.