Inheritance, Maui Nui

The work depicts rare species of Maui, Moloka`i and Lana`i Islands. (From outer to inner: the koa butterfly, Udara blackburni; the rare Haleakala fern, Athyrium haleakalae, with 300 remaining ion the wild; the haha Cyanea macrostegia of Lana`i, East and West Maui; the makou, Peucedanum sandwicense, and the extremely rare na`u, Gardenia brighamii known from only a few trees on Lana`i and West Maui) The work references our planet with little known Hawaiian species of the sea cliffs, mountain bogs and dry forests. Together they comprise the interconnected fabric of life among the Hawaiian archipelago often referred to as the world's epicenter of species extinction. Other rare plants in burned silk include Hillebrandia sandwicensis from Maui and Kaho’olawe’s Kanaloa. The fires from 2023 are referenced and near the flames on the left is the Lahainaluna motto in Hawaiian which translated reads “not even the fiercest winds of Kaua’ula can extinguish the flame.” The burned script on the printed silk flowers of the rare na’ū (gardenia on the lower right) includes a quote from James Baldwin, “If I love you I must make you conscious of the things you don’t see.”

2024

oil and silk stitched serigraph on linen, 43.75 x 43.75 in

The painting depicts rare species of Maui, Moloka‘i and Lana‘i Islands. Together they comprise the interconnected fabric of life among the Hawaiian archipelago often referred to as the world’s epicenter of species extinction. The devastating Maui fires of 2023 are referenced with the flames stitched in burned silk on the left. The Lahainaluna high school motto in Hawaiian is likewise burned in silk and reads “not even the fiercest winds of Kaua‘ula can extinguish the flame.” The artist invites the viewer to contemplate the fragility and resilience of both people and place, with the burned script of from a quote from James Baldwin that reads, “If I love you I must make you conscious of the things you don’t see.”

Species from outer to inner: the koa butterfly, Udara blackburni; the rare Haleakalā fern, Athyrium haleakalae, with 300 remaining ion the wild; the haha Cyanea macrostegia of Lana`i, East and West Maui; the makou, Peucedanum sandwicense, and the extremely rare na‘u, Gardenia brighamii known from only a few trees on Lana‘i and West Maui. Other rare plants in burned silk include Hillebrandia sandwicensis from Maui and Kaho‘olawe’s Kanaloa.

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