Abstract
“[Placeholder] is about holding and being held by place. It operates on the understanding that many of us in this country, both collectively and individually, have a ruptured or damaged relationship to the land we live on. It is searching for pathways towards repair.”
-Eliza Gregory, artist in residence at the University of California, Davis, Student Farm
Axis Gallery is pleased to present [Placeholder: Groundtruthing], an exhibition of work from the UC Davis student farm created by student artists & designers Jadyn Johnson, Brian Rodriguez-Torres, Nadia Dean, and Grace Call under the guidance of Eliza Gregory. This work will be on view from May 2–June 1 with a reception on May 10 from 5-8pm. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Sacramento State University and UC Davis.
[Placeholder: Groundtruthing] explores the cultivation of relationships to land at the UC Davis Student Farm over the past 50 years. Since 1977 it has been a place for research, community, collaboration, and learning through an agroecological lens.
The Student Farm is a 23-acre farm located on the UC Davis campus behind the recreation pool. The farm is home to five different programs: the Ecological Garden, the Market Garden, SCOPE, Kids in the Garden, and Fresh Focus, a program that distributes surplus produce to food pantries around Davis. Each project focuses on a different vein of fresh produce, farming, or sustainable food systems. Each program is run by a team of student volunteers, interns, and lead farmers.
[Placeholder: Groundtruthing] is the newest iteration of Gregory’s [PLACEHOLDER] project which explores our relationships with the land we live on. The Student Farm interested Gregory because of its rich history of land-based learning and student-run operations.
“I just started to think, wow, that would be an amazing place to spend time. I wanted to learn from this institution that has been working on building relationships to land for 50 years,” said Gregory. “And what I’ve found is such a healthy social infrastructure there. The love and care and thoughtfulness that runs all through this place is amazing to be a part of.”
This exhibition presents artworks made in response to the UC Davis Student Farm.