Soils Turn Speaker Series
Lauren Bon + Metabolic Studio
"Un-development: Unsealing the Earth and Letting Her Breathe"
Thursday, March 13
United States: 9am HST, 11am PST, Noon MST, 1pm CDT, 2pm EST
Europe: 19:00 GMT Australia: Friday, February 4, 6am AEDT
For the third of five online events for the Soils Turn Speaker Series, presenting the work of artists focused on addressing soils as art, artist Lauren Bon will discuss her multi-year large-scale project in downtown Los Angeles. Un-development, is unsealing tarmac, dismantling concrete and letting the land breathe on a one-acre vacant lot adjacent to the Los Angeles River. Through the concept of Un-development, the project proposes breaking away from conventional urbanization practices and dismantling structures that suffocate living systems. It envisions a city that embraces the natural processes of decay, abundance, and interconnectedness, revitalizing the relationship between the city and its environment.
The presentation and Q&A will be moderated by co-editor of the upcoming printed book, Soils Turn, Patricia Watts, also founder of ecoartspace.
Member Speaker
Lauren Bon is the director of Metabolic Studio, which navigates critical social and environmental issues by identifying systemic loopholes and developing emergent strategies for transformation. In 2005, her project Not A Cornfield transformed a vacant industrial 32-acre site in downtown Los Angeles into a living sculpture of corn, challenging land use policies and reimagining urban ecologies. Since then, Metabolic Studio has been working to reconnect this same floodplain with its historical water source (the Los Angeles River) through Bending the River, a 20-year project that circumvents conventional infrastructure to create alternative water systems. Bon’s work disrupts entrenched frameworks to generate new possibilities for land, water, and public agency. She has created major works for Desert X, Getty’s PST, Honor Fraser Gallery, collateral events of the 59th edition of La Biennale di Venezia, LACMA, The Hammer Museum, The Exploratorium, DePaul Art Museum, The George Eastman Museum, MASS MoCA, The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MoCAD), Les Rencontres d’Arles in France, and The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
This event is free for members + one guest. $5 for non-members. All participants MUST REGISTER.
