Artist Statement
My current work centers around the escalating land consumption occurring on theBig Island of Hawaii. Having been born and raised on the Big Island I have witnessed many changes over the past few years, including a dramatic increase in the amount of new people and businesses moving in. My concern is that a slow-paced and culturally rich lifestyle is being rapidly consumed and absorbed by waves of new development. Problems of gentrification and over-population are not unique to the Big Island, but the drama presented by this particular situation seems frighteningly apparent to me.
I choose symbols and imagery from my island culture, along with materials, to demonstrate this ongoing process of consumption in Hawaii. The generic island girl is an image I have adopted to symbolize the growing lust for owning a piece of paradise. She represents Hawaii, or its parts, as being something that is collectable. The grid format references plots of land and reinforces a sense of collecting, multiplying and exponential growth. The use of materials, such as commercial molds and blank porcelain, signify the dominance of the generic, the multiple, and the mass-produced. The desired effect is to emphasize the relentless nature of consumerism and the sense of something being cleansed or cheapened.
I choose symbols and imagery from my island culture, along with materials, to demonstrate this ongoing process of consumption in Hawaii. The generic island girl is an image I have adopted to symbolize the growing lust for owning a piece of paradise. She represents Hawaii, or its parts, as being something that is collectable. The grid format references plots of land and reinforces a sense of collecting, multiplying and exponential growth. The use of materials, such as commercial molds and blank porcelain, signify the dominance of the generic, the multiple, and the mass-produced. The desired effect is to emphasize the relentless nature of consumerism and the sense of something being cleansed or cheapened.
