Description:
Please follow this audio guide to listen to recordings of the California’s Blacklisted invasive plant species that are located throughout the Los Angeles Arboretum. As you encounter them by clicking on their locations via the map below, they will recount their capricious experiences in settling here.
The accounts speak as much for these plants’ precarious place in California's landscape as they are also the stories of the state’s human migrants. It is important to remember that these species arrived as companions to humans and their activities. The dates these so-called aliens came here correspond to the eras of colonial imperialism, manifest destiny, globalized shipping, and successive waves of multi-ethnic immigrant laborers. The narratives explore the themes of migration, national identity, and the disputable function of political borders. These voices encourage us to reflect on the botanical landscape as one that is cultural.
Many thanks to the talented humans who have channeled these florae for our ears: Anthony Bodlović, Jay Erker, Alexandra Pacheco Garcia, Zane Mackin, James McCarthy, Chelsea Szendi Schieder, Sebastian Schulman, Betsy Lin Seder, Raji Sohal, and J.B. Waterman.
Title:
Blacklisted: A Planted Allegory (Recollections) — Audio Guide
Year:
2016
Media:
Streaming audio recordings situated within the Los Angeles Arboretum
Dimensions:
1 - 2 minutes each