Alison Saar

Soul Service Station

b. Los Angeles, California, 1956
Based in Los Angeles

Soul Service Station
33.962806, -116.542806
Pierson Boulevard between North Indian Canyon Drive and Desert Terrace Way, Desert Hot Springs

Alison Saar’s work weaves personal and cultural narratives, drawing inspiration from spiritual traditions, mythology, and African diasporic histories while uncovering the hidden potential of found materials. Central to Saar’s practice is the concept of salvage, both as a material and metaphorical act. She reclaims discarded objects—tin ceiling tiles, weathered wood, glass bottles, and cast-iron pans—imbuing them with renewed vitality and purpose. This process reflects her dedication to preserving the embedded histories and cultural memories in these items, particularly those connected to Black female identity. Saar’s transformations carry an alchemical quality, turning the mundane into the extraordinary and embodying renewal, resilience, and healing.

Soul Service Station reimagines a sculptural intervention Saar created in 1986 in Roswell, New Mexico. Drawing inspiration from gas stations that have populated the American West, including the Coachella Valley, Saar’s station offers more than practical services; it provides fuel for the soul. She invites weary travelers to get “their blues flushed, spirits inflated, hearts charged, and souls filled.”

Inside the station, a sculptural assemblage handcrafted by Saar contains a collection of devotional objects. Saar has collaborated with Coachella Valley students to create foil repoussé medallions expressing prayers and wishes for healing and hope. These community-crafted elements, combined with furnishings made from salvaged materials, form a sanctuary that merges collective dreams with Saar’s vision of a spiritual oasis. At the center stands a life-size, hand-carved female figure, the guardian and healer of the site, exuding strength and protection.

Further enriching the experience, a repurposed gas pump plays poems by Los Angeles–based poet Harryette Mullen. Saar’s Soul Service Station serves as a sanctuary for travelers, a place to pause, heal, and carry forward the aspirations, histories, and voices.

Poetry by Harryette Mullen.
Musical score by Will Darity.

Generous support is provided by Jordan Schnitzer and The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation. Powered by the sun via SOLARPUNKS.