Artist pays homage to historic Bay salt ponds

In troubled times, the job of art is to hold up a mirror to society. That’s exactly what Oakland-based artist Favianna Rodriguez has been trying to achieve through her work for the last 24 years, including her recently created 3-by-3 foot piece that’s displayed prominently in one of the indoor public spaces of the recently launched citizenM hotel at Meta’s Menlo Park campus.

From concept to color palette, the artwork reflects the landscape around the hotel, particularly of the San Francisco Bay wetland that, after being used for salt production for over 150 years, is currently being restored to its natural state.

The prompt from citizenM was to create something about Menlo Park that captures the diversity of the community. “This is inclusive of that,” said the 45-year-old artist over a Zoom call with this publication. “The residents of Menlo Park are going to benefit from the restoration.”

Rodriguez has a rather academic approach to her art. Before starting the assignment, she visited the construction site of the hotel and was struck by the presence of salt all over.

“As we were walking up the exterior, I saw that there was salt all over the stairs. … It was everywhere,” she said. “I did some research and it turns out that the region used to be owned by Cargill.” The American food corporation has historically been in the business of producing salt, among other things.

“Those salt ponds destroyed like 80-90% of the wildlife and natural habitat,” Rodriguez said. “But though they were damaged, they were beautiful. I felt it was important to acknowledge that history. The salt production led to a boom of that whole region.”

The effort to restore the area began around 2003. “The local community started buying back the land that Cargill had and began to rewild it,” she said.

Thanks to the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, a lot of the flora and fauna of the region is returning to its original state. Her artwork captures this, down to the seaweeds and microorganisms.

Rodriguez recalls marveling at the salt ponds in the region while flying over that area. “From the plane you could see these beautiful blocks of color — bright pink, bright green,” she said.

The reason behind these extravagant colors is the presence of natural bacteria in the marshlands. “I love that!” she said. “The bacteria ended up in my art.” They include dunaliella, halobacteria and synechococcus.

Also featured in the art are birds that have returned to the region, including the American avocet, marsh wren and long-billed curlew. “All these birds almost went extinct,” Rodriguez said, thrilled that the environment is now thriving with native species. The human figure in her art is shown tending to marsh plants like pickleweed and cordgrass.

Moreover, in their natural state, the marshes also serve as a flood protection barrier in the face of rising sea levels.

Rodriguez identifies as a cultural strategist who promotes the value of environmental stewardship through her art. “I really try to see what inspires me from the landscape. I like to understand the ecosystem that I work in. I want people to be aware,” she said. “I can give someone a research paper about the wetlands and they’ll just roll their eyes at me but through art I can speak to people’s emotions.”

Her work is an amalgamation of art and activism. “(It’s about) the ability to leverage the catalytic power of culture towards social good,” she said.

She hopes the people staying at citizenM will engage with her artwork in a deep way. “I hope people will get curious, take a moment from their busy day and go visit the wetlands. It’s literally across the street.”

She’s keen to create a modified, scaled up version of this piece of art and work with the park service to display it outdoors, in the wetlands. The objective is to educate people about the importance of respecting nature. “I want to make sure this artwork has another life,” she said.

Rodriguez also hopes hotel officials will get more involved in spreading the word about restoration in the coming days and make it part of their corporate responsibility.

“I would love the hotel to sponsor cleanups or a weekly walk; have a little brochure (available at the hotel),” she said. “I would want the hotel, as well as the tech companies that are there, to be a liaison to the wetlands project. There is so much power in that little region.”

Related story: First hotel on Meta’s Menlo Park campus boasts local artwork.