Haboob

With Haboob photographer Andrew Phelps picks up again where his photo series Higley (Kehrer Verlag, 2007) left off: the explosive growth of the metropolis of Phoenix gradually engulfing surrounding small towns. Rural structures dissolved, replaced by shopping malls and faceless developments of new detached houses; village roads became broad and showy boulevards.The financial and real estate crisis put an abrupt end to the building boom. The destructive sandstorms typical of Arizona’s desert landscape, known as haboobs, now sweep through the deserted streets, a symbol of the fear and anxiety gripping today’s American middle class.