Pb (put it back). Lead remediation in LA

Pb (Put it back) is a series of works that address the reality that thousands of families are facing in South East Los Angeles due to a severe case of lead contamination in the soil caused by Exide Industries. Using the power of art, science, and community we want to propose an alternative lead remediation strategy for contaminated backyards. In collaboration with the NHMLA, the project includes the scientific research of minerals and other natural methods that possess the capacity of lead remediation. Through conversations, workshops, the development of a DIY remediation kit, and healing ceremonies around a remediating sculpture, we want to make this option accessible to the community. As we are cleaning soil, a source of life, community members are transformed into healers of this wounded land. The results of this long-term project will be presented as part of the Pacific Standard Time Art x Science x LA initiative organized by The Getty Foundation in 2024.

When: 7-8pm Wednesday June 30th

Where: meet.google.com/oye-ammb-bcr

About the speaker

Maru García is a transdisciplinary artist and researcher working across art + science + environment. Her areas of interest are explorations on biosystems, interspecies relationships, and the capacity of living organisms (including humans) to act as remediators in contaminated sites. Her work highlights ‘eco-aesthetics’, where relationships and community are proposed to build cultures of regeneration. 

Maru has collaborated with the Art-Sci Center and Counterforce Lab at UCLA and is a 2020-2021 Sci-Art Ambassador for Supercollider. She has participated in conferences, solo and group exhibitions in North America, Europe, and Asia. She is a Getty Foundation grant recipient for the exhibition “Sink: places we call home” at Self-Help Graphics, to be presented in the Pacific Standard Time Art-Science LA in 2024.

Maru holds an MFA in Media Arts from UCLA and a B.S. in Chemistry from Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico. She is based in LA.

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