Exhibit: “Interlopings” at SB Botanic Garden Gallery

Weavings dyed with pigments from non-native plants from Santa Cruz Island are juxtaposed with data visualizations of their colors in a new exhibit by artists Helén Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt (UCSB faculty). New exhibit “Interlopings: Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” explores the relationships between humans, plants, and color at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s Pritzlaff Conservation Center Gallery from December 11, 2022 through March 12, 2023.
“Interlopings” is a process-based collaborative art project which combines traditional techniques (dyeing, spinning, and weaving) with data visualization. It is site-specific, with the dyes used all coming from non-native plants that have been introduced to Santa Cruz Island over the years. The wool came from a breed of sheep that once lived on the Island.
Swedish artist Helén Svensson has been active since the late 1990s. Lisa Jevbratt is an interdisciplinary artist and professor of art at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
“We are investigating the complex and intertwined influence humans have on our ecosystems, and the aesthetic, emotional, magical, and medicinal interrelationships between humans, plants and color,” said Svensson.

The dyes for the weavings were extracted from fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), sea fig (Carpobrotus chilensis, blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus), olive (Olea europaea), and other non-nature plant species. Also included is a dye produced from insect that lives on a non-native plant – cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) which lives on prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica cactus) – and used to produce carmine, a reddish dye that has been valued throughout the centuries.

The breed now called Santa Cruz Island Sheep were believed to have been brought to the island in the mid-19th century for wool and meat production. Eventually becoming feral, they caused so much damage to the landscape that they were removed from the island. A pile of raw wool shorn from Santa Cruz Island sheep has been placed on the floor of the gallery for guests to interact with. Touching is encouraged.

“Santa Cruz Island is undergoing an intensive ecological restoration process. The project explores perceptions of ‘invasive species’ and aims to complicate questions regarding who and what belongs on that island and by extension on any island, real or imagined,” added Svensson.

Enlargements of data visualizations come from a database of natural dye colors created by the artists as part of this project. Various methods are used for visualizing and organizing that data, and include a wide range of systematics, from scientific to alchemical.

“The Garden’s gallery, with the view of Santa Cruz Island where this work began with the removal of invasive species, is the perfect place to showcase the final products,” added Kevin Spracher, the Garden’s Interpretation and Exhibitions Curator.

The Gallery hallway now features photographs of specimens from the Garden’s Clifton Smith Herbarium, a collection of more than 2,000 preserved plants collected over nearly 100 years. The specimens are stored in fireproof, underground rooms below the Gallery.

The Gallery, located on the ground floor of Pritzlaff Conservation Center, is a space to bring people together to celebrate art, science, and native plants. It is open during regular Garden hours, and entry is free with Garden admission. Advance reservations are required for non-Garden Members and can be made at www.sbbotanicgarden.org/visit .