Monica Rodriguez: Californiana

Monica Rodriguez's exhibition "Californiana" at the de Saisset Museum explores the colonization of California from 1542 to 1846, focusing on the missionization period (1769–1833) when Native Californians were forced into labor within the Alta California Mission system. The installation features twenty-one adobe bells planted with native California plants, architectural plans, and photorealist drawings of historical texts from the Mission Library Collection, all critiquing the colonial mindset and its enduring impact on the land and people.