“Repollinators”
Location: Resource Central
6400 Arapahoe Rd Suite B Boulder, CO 80303
2023 Community Project in partnership with Resource Central
Photos by Peter Kowalchuk
Read the full interview with David about this project on our blog.
Resource Central’s efforts to divert building materials from landfills through an innovative recycling program inspired Garcia to imagine the effects that this waste would have on the environment if it wasn’t properly recycled. His mural depicts a slew of materials, everything and the kitchen sink - ovens, refrigerators, tires, electrical cables, garden hoses, windows, and doors. Intertwined with these materials are a selection of pollinators like bats and bees, carrying the waste like they carry pollen from flower to flower, plant to plant. Pollination is an essential part of plant reproduction, just as recycling is an essential part of maintaining a healthy natural environment.
Over the course of the project, Garcia ruminated over the prefix “re,” meaning again or repeat. Resource Central recycles and repurposes materials. Pollinators return to plants again and again during pollination, helping to preserve and restore habitats. Even Garcia’s mural participates in a recycling process, both giving and receiving energy from viewers as they engage with the work and reflecting his belief that art is a manifestation of energy. Repollinators illustrates these important processes.
The sculptor and painter was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. He is a self-taught artist heavily influenced by his family and Mexican and Native American heritage. He aims to create representation for the Latinx community within the art world. In 2007, he completed his first public art project Huitzilopotchli, which was recently restored. Garcia developed his personal style of abstract imaginism, which combines the spontaneity of abstraction with the creativity and perceptions of his own imagination. His style is reflected in his use of vibrant colors and fantastical imagery.