Four Our Environment, 1997

The Chicano Park Artists Task Force was organized in 1995 in response to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) plans to retrofit a freeway bridge in the Barrio Logan community in downtown San Diego. This particular space had been designated as a park in the 1970s and had since become a center for community action and expression through mural art. INSITE97 was an opportunity for the four artists in the Task Force to develop an artistic defense against the plans, intertwining elements to create Four Our Environment.

Victor Ochoa directed the planting of native trees throughout the several acres of the barrio to develop a greener space. The second element, Altar Net,designed by Ochoa and Armando Nuñez, was a pyramid structure that served as an information center, providing audio and visual materials on the park’s history. For this element, the Task Force also restored and painted new murals and created a video and maquette of the park. The third element, a sculpture titled Arrow Head, Victory, was designed by Mario Torero. The large arrow piercing the ground alluded to the alliance forged by the Plains Indian tribes at Arrowhead, Arkansas, to defend their lands against invasion. The final element was an interactive website designed by the father-son team, Raul and Joaquin Jacquez.

Curators: Jessica Bradley, Olivier Debroise, Ivo Mesquita, and Sally Yard
Venue: Chicano Park, Barrio Logan