Talk

Unseen California engages the public land of California as an outdoor artist studio and classroom laboratory by inviting artists to collaborate in research and create site specific art. In its inaugural cohort, Unseen California aims to “see” (by means of visualization and acknowledgement) the multivalent histories that compose the California landscape. This includes indigenous stewardship and regenerative practices – on ceded and unceded land – and the role of settler colonialism and imperialism in construction of these histories. The project will be represented here by artists and organizers Karolina Karlic, Aspen Mays, and Mercedes Dorame.

One of the leading curatorial platforms for contemporary field recording practices, Touch has spent the last 40 years releasing work exploring the sounds hidden in hard-to-reach places. Releases include Norwegian artist Jana Winderen’s recordings of creatures beneath the arctic ice, field recordist Chris Watson’s recordings of multiple layers of the Namib Desert, and many others. Touch will be represented by artists Patrick Shiroishi and Bana Haffar.

Indexical’s Landscape & Life Speaker Series continues with a panel featuring artist Louise Leong; poet, artist and abolitionist Tim Young; artist Aja Bond; and farmer Kellee Matsushita-Tseng.

Adrian Drummond-Cole is an interdisciplinary environmental historian and doctoral candidate in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He researches the science, politics, and cultures of water management in California’s Central Valley, focusing on settler social movements for swampland reclamation and agricultural irrigation. Adrian teaches courses on environmental history, media studies, and human geography.

The Landscape Thinking Group is comprised of UCSC Visual Studies PhD Candidates whose work interrogates landscape as it relates to race, politics and power in regions around the globe. For this event, the Landscape Thinking Group will be facilitating a “Bioregional Quiz” and discussion. Participants will meet at Indexical and then migrate to an outdoor location. Wear clothing appropriate for gathering outside.