Immemorial to Spiraling Ecologies, Mapache (2014)

Immemorial to Spiraling Ecologies of East LA pays homage to the social, cultural and ecological history of the Eastern Avenue hill itself and the people and communities that immediately surround the hill. As part of this project we explored the role of myth and history as popular knowledge bases that have helped these very communities re-imagine and redefine themselves and transcend day to day struggles. Inspired by the rich social, cultural and environmental ecologies that have thrived at and around the site, our final artwork consists of a landscape design with a fence and three free-standing stone sculptures that draw from the site’s social and ecological histories to create an imagined cosmology.

Approaching the hill as a lens to examine the sweeping changes that have altered the landscape of Los Angeles in the last century, we’ve found Eastern Avenue Hill and the immediate community of Lopez Maravilla an inherently storied place, rich with natural and social history. Embedded in the site itself is the remains of an ecology that persists despite the incredible development and growth of the area in the last century and a half. The hill has been a profound witness whose body has been marked by the radical transformations of the landscape as a result of the economies of the colonial, industrial and post-industrial eras. This understanding of the site informed our approach to form, materials and spatial layout of the entire project.

Mapache City Projects explores social and environmental landscapes through research-based processes to produce public artworks and socially engaged projects. Mapache City Projects is a partnership of Sandra de la Loza and Arturo Romo founded in 2011. 

Eastern Avenue Hill Public Art Project, commissioned by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture