A small stream runs through part of Chile’s vast Atacama Desert, allowing such villages as tiny Poconchile to survive. Its old church however, survives only in memory. I photographed part of its remaining ruins – a small window and an urn – against a desert hillside as a backdrop. This picture needs its color to function. The brownish sand gives identity to the desert. And the light green and yellow paint on the ruins tell us that they are more than just ruins – they are revered as part of the collective memory of the village. It is the contrast between these incongruously painted ruins and vast flow of sand on the huge hill behind them that conveys the meaning of the picture – an image about faith, survival, and the forces of nature. And color is the key to it all.