Project Description

In her photograph, Yardas, Sandra de la Loza depicts moments of vibrancy in a land of contrasts, where heavy industry meets small residential enclaves. At this confluence, front yards are places of regeneration and resiliency created by the city’s working-class residents. Homes and small businesses are customized by planting rich, diverse and textured foliage full of color, shape, aesthetic flair and cultural expression. These personalized micro-environments are private and public spaces for respite and nourishment where cross-generational knowledge is stored, language is shared, sustenance thrives and collective agency manifests through family, neighbors and friends.

This artwork was commissioned for Metro’s Through the Eyes of Artists poster series for display in the fleet.

 

Artist Statement

“I was drawn to the ways in which brown working class communities create space within their homes and small businesses by customizing landscapes and architecture. Inserting culture through language, color, shape and aesthetic flare.”

About the Artist

SANDRA DE LA LOZA (b. 1968, Los Angeles) is a second-generation Angeleno with roots in the city’s historic working-class barrios. She conducts deep research into the stories of this land and its people via walks, archive visits, oral histories and participation in local community struggles. Her immersive installations, photography, videos and public artworks uncover layers in environmental and social landscapes to decolonize, heal from historic systemic violence and create circles of liberated social relationships. Her work has been exhibited in major museums, alternative spaces and community centers in the United States and abroad. She has received awards from Fellows of Contemporary Art, Art Matters, City of Los Angeles and California Community Foundation, among others. De La Loza is currently an artist-in-residence embedded as a Creative Strategist in the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. 

About Through the Eyes of Artists

In the tradition of celebrating transportation through colorful travel destination posters, Metro Art commissions a diverse range of Los Angeles artists to create original artworks for the Through the Eyes of Artists poster series. Established in 2003, the posters are displayed onboard Metro trains and buses.

View other works in the series.

 

Display year: 2022