1 island

3 ecosystems

100 miles from LA

Project Space 643

643 N Ventura Ave, Ventura, CA 93001

November 3 - December 8, 2023

Opening Reception: Friday November 3rd 5-8 pm

To visit the show outside of the reception; by appointment only

Featured Artists: Emma Akmakdjian, Rachel Binx, Richelle Ellis,Taylor Griffith, Patti Keller,

Kyla Van Maanen, Koi Ren, Brenda Nieto Rosas, Alison Woods

Curated by Emma Akmakdijan and Alison Woods, SUPERCOLLIDER

1 island, 3 ecosystems, 100 miles from LA, is a multimedia group exhibition presented by

SUPERCOLLIDER at Project Space 643. This exhibition shares perspectives of Santa Rosa

Press Release by Emma Akmakdijan, Isabel Beavers, and Richelle Ellis

Island through the lens of ten artists who attended SUPERCOLLIDER's annual

Field Study Program at CSUCI's Santa Rosa Island Research Station in June

2023.

Only one hundred miles from Los Angeles, Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands National

Park offers a view of California coastlines without the architecture of industrialization. Instead of

skyscrapers and armored ports, Santa Rosa's towering Torrey Pine forests and oak trees

transfuse into coastal bluffs, estuaries, and sandy beaches, demonstrating the interconnectivity

of all ecosystems on the isolated island.

Despite its natural scenery, Santa Rosa Island is not unscathed from the hundreds of years of

cattle ranching and sheep farming that left the island barren, with unstable soils eroding into the

deep valleys of the mountainous island. Before the ranching operations of western settlers,

Chumash thrived for thousands of years on Wima (Santa Rosa Island). Artists in the exhibition

imagine the past and present of Santa Rosa Island, considering the future landscape of the

island through climate change.

To better understand the transformation of the land, artists in this exhibit volunteered on two

restoration projects: a NOAA Marine Debris grant program led by California State University

Channel Islands and the Cloud Forest Restoration Program led by National Park botanist

Kathryn McEachern. For the Marine Debris project, the artists helped clean the beaches of

plastic waste at Skunk Point on the east end of Santa Rosa. For the Cloud forest restoration

project, the artists built moisture collection systems called fog hats, interventions that safeguard

the future of the eroding 400+-year-old oak grove on Soledad Peak.

Artworks in the exhibition reflect on the boundaries of the natural world relative to accelerating

technologies in industrialization, artificial intelligence, and system structure. The exhibit reveals

three ecosystems on the island as experienced by the artists: the oak groves, subtidal, and

intertidal areas. Underwater imagery by Taylor Griffith covers the window panes, suggesting the

transition of land and sea over billions of years and the impermanence of coastlines.

Photographs and lenticular prints by Rachel Binx and Kyla Van Maanen invite us to see three

ecosystems as one. Mixed media illustrations from Richelle Ellis reveal the overlap of systems

from an overview effect, challenging our definition of the natural world and our role in promoting

the environment's well-being.

1 Island, 3 ecosystems, 100 miles from LA, challenges the proximity of natural landscapes to

urban life and questions the classification of an ecosystem as either an integrated or

independent place. Works oscillate between themes of togetherness and isolation, remoteness

and human-altered landscapes, permanence, and ever-changing aspects of the island biome.

As revealed during their first-hand experience restoring ecosystems on Santa Rosa Island, the

artists and artworks preserve such a place as a memory and a beacon of hope.

SUPERCOLLIDER creates immersive science+art experiences—including (inter)nationally

curated satellites for pop-ups, festivals, and research institutes—that vividly reclaim our future

and explode our present.

Press Release by Emma Akmakdijan, Isabel Beavers, and Richelle Ellis

Located at the Beacon Arts Building in Los Angeles, CA, SUPERCOLLIDER is

the Mothership (HQ) for sci+art+tech exhibitions in greater Los Angeles and

beyond. We feature quarterly exhibitions and extend our curations via Satellites

to local and (inter)national spaces. Our mission is to drive persistent conversation about the

future of our home planet.

Press Release