January 21, 2018 - June 3, 2018
Ana Serrano’s immersive “garden” both references a recognizable urban landscape and pays homage to the artist’s family connection to the land in Mexico. Highlighting the juxtaposition of the built environment and plant life, the installation is composed of bright-colored walls and lively plants made of cardboard and paper. The dynamic space invites viewers to move into the sculpture and immerse themselves in the disparate yet familiar elements of city living, emphasizing the balance between man-made constructions and natural elements as well as dense, permanent objects and those that are lighter, more ephemeral.
In Serrano’s installation, plants poke up through the “concrete structure” as they would through cracks in city sidewalks or streets. The plants reference the small plots of dirt found scattered amidst the concrete of Los Angeles, particularly in the Mexican and Mexican-American neighborhoods of Los Angeles where Serrano was raised. With a particular focus on the ways people create gardens and grow food within small spaces, the installation mirrors the garden-within-the-yard of the single-family home and recalls the store fronts and urban environments that provide the soil for family traditions to take root. It focuses on how people bring the natural world into the city environment.
