Melissa Chimera

The work draws from an archival photograph of sugar cane plantation harvesters in Hawai‘i. While the exact date and location of the original photograph is unknown, the scene of harvesters slashing and collecting tall cane stalks by hand is indicative of the hard labor by many different immigrant groups in pre-mechanized Hawai‘i. Filipinos (known as sakadas) were among these people and included Chimera’s grandfather and great-grandfather who came to Hawai‘i in the early 20th century. Chimera juxtaposes the difficulty of the endeavor with the intricate patterning in the background, a reference to the barong tagolog, a traditional garment from the Philippines made from transparent spun pineapple leaves. The work suggests that despite the hardships, plantation field workers were not diminished by the difficulty of their labors.