Sinks: Places We Call Home

Communities of color are often the populations most vulnerable to the toxic effects of industrial waste and soil contamination. Sinks: Places We Call Home highlights the environmental disparities created by manufacturing sites in two communities located near Self Help Graphics: Exide battery plant in Vernon and the former Athens Tank Farm (Exxon Mobil) site in Willowbrook. Los Angeles-based artists Maru García and Beatriz Jaramillo are conducting data-driven research that reveals the harmful practices of the past and present and their long-term impact on people and the environment. Producing new work for the exhibition, García partnered with the Natural History Museum to pursue soil testing and lead reduction studies with community scientists in the areas surrounding Vernon. Jaramillo has invited voices from the Willowbrook communities, including the neighborhood’s Community Garden, into the exhibition through a collaborative installation. Sinks seeks to elevate the voices and stories of the people from these neighborhoods, to inform audiences about land contamination, and to work toward alternative solutions.