We Did Not See It Coming (2017 -2018)
We Did Not See It Coming is a metaphor for the development of Oceania. Jellyfish are seductively beautiful and by the time you realize you are stung, the damage has been done. This is how extractive colonialism, such as deep-sea mining, presents itself to the governments of Oceania—a beautiful package with potentially fatal consequences. Unlike capitalism, jellyfish are vital to the oceanʻs ecosystem, they are key sources of food to other marine life, but pollution, industrialization or other man made causes often result in large voracious jellyfish blooms. As we have seen, unchecked development has nearly paralyzed the economies of Oceania and has driven climate change. Jellyfish remind us that balance is necessary for our survival. Journey of the Blue Jellyfish (2022)
The journey of the blue jellyfish takes its name from the poem, "Prepositions" by poet Brandy Nālani McDougall in her forthcoming book of poetry ʻĀina Hānau | Birth Lands. Unlike my other jellyfish works, "the Journey of the Blue Jellyfish" is a metaphor for the ebbs and flows of love over time, all of the salt and sting, the tangible and intangible, promise and loss are all present in the fleshy flowing tentacled bodies of the blue jellyfish. |
IMolasses Jellies (2013)
September 2013, fish in Honolulu harbor began gasping for air and dying by the thousands, due to a massive molasses spill from Hawaii's largest shipping company, Matson. The molasses robbed the ocean of its much needed oxygen, killing the reef. While jellyfish are vital to pelagic food chain, they are capable of thriving in low oxygen and highly polluted waters. Their ability to adapt is both amazing and potentially devastating to an ecosystem trying to recover from an industrial disaster. Molasses Jellies imagines the waters after the spill and the potential aftermath. It is not enough to mark the loss of fish, but to consider what will replace them. |