Roski Talks: Maria Maea

ABOUT MARIA MAEA

Maria Maea is a multidisciplinary artist working in sculpture, installation, film and sound. Through her art practice, she deepens her connection to land, somatic memory, and ancestry. Her works act as a residue of her lived experience as a first generation Los Angeleno of Samoan and Mexican heritage. Using plants and repurposed found material gathered throughout Los Angeles, Maea builds film set-like sculptures that relate to storytelling & myth-making. She uses palm fronds foraged from the greater Los Angeles area to build these sculptures that play in the space between figurative and abstraction. These sculptures, called future ancestors, are made from concrete, rebar, collected objects and both living and dead plants. The work seeks to complicate art’s relationship with institutions around ideas of contamination and preservation.

ABOUT ROSKI TALKS

The USC Roski School’s Roski Talks lecture series offers engaging weekly presentations from leading visual artists, design innovators, scholars, performance artists, architects, and other influential figures throughout the academic year. These events are a popular among the Roski community and frequently attract members of the public.

Held in an intimate setting, Roski Talks encourage audience participation and open dialogue. Each session concludes with lively group discussions and Q&A opportunities.

Host or Publisher USC Roski School of Art and Design