Pasifika:
An excerpt from my Senior Thesis ‘22
“[My current boy of work is] meant to showcase the rich and diverse heritage and experiences of Pacific Islanders and to authentically educate on and celebrate these cultures. This series will be my initial attempt at capturing culture as a whole: including music, dance, crafts, fashion, tradition, materials, etc. in a body of still images. This body of work is intended to increase the representation of the Pacific Islander community in the arts and media and to bring forward authentic lived experiences. I want people apart from our culture to have the opportunity to experience it authentically, and people from our culture to have a chance to celebrate and share it…
At the beginning of this semester, I was asked, “What would you like your art to say?” And in the end, my answer was clear:
Ha’ina ‘ia mai ana ka puana
Let the story be told”
Ephemeral beauty comes through my work via my subject choice and painting style. Not only are the portraits of family, but the imagery is also centered around the people and their relationships with one another, their environment, and their history. Many of my paintings are contingent on youth and motherly love. These universal motifs allow the viewer to apply similar ideas of love and beauty to the moments of their childhood and that of the children in their lives. This focus on youth and age alludes to my belief in the expansive opportunity of a child’s awe and future as well as an elder’s grace with wisdom and experience.
Hāpai, oil on linen, 18 x 48”
-Kuleana-
Responsibility
“Though I am of pacific island descent and my community represents a vast array of ancestries from that region, I am by no means an expert in anthropology. This is to say that where I have chosen to begin is what I know best and what I believe I could authentically and holistically represent from my personal experiences at this current moment, but as I seek to diversify my narratives and expand the scope of this work, much more research is to be done before I even attempt to speak on the lived experiences of other peoples. Research that I have and will continue to conduct comes in all forms from books, articles, films, museums, interviews, events, dances, and music to name a few. There is a lot of work to be done even before the artistic process begins, but this is how I create authentic work that I am proud to call my own. With all this said, it must now be clear that there is no shortcutting this journey and that this body of work is and will continue to be a work in progress long after my time at LCAD ends. In a greater sense, Pasifika is the beginning of what I believe to be the arc of my career and artistic calling”
Process
The technical process for my paintings is quite simple. I will start with my initial idea and sketch out compositions from which to reference in my photoshoot. Then I will custom-build a cradled birch panel and mount oil-primed linen onto it. I love working on primed linen as it allows for a very wet and glossy technique that gives my work a nice body and malleability throughout my process. Not to mention the weave of the fabric heightens the effect of fabric and texture which I am now exploring. After my panel is built, I will draw out a to-scale sketch and oil transfer the drawing onto my panel. From there I simply work in sections and layers to create the desired effect in my paintings.
Ha’ina ‘ia mai ana ka puana
Read my Senior Thesis on Pasifika below