GREETINGS from The STATE of ALOHA addresses the profound impact of tourism and colonialism that has prevailed in the self-proclaimed “Aloha State” since the Kingdom was violently overthrown and annexed to the United States in 1893.
As a long-time resident who spent a decade employed in the tourism industry, I believe that it is my kuleana (a Hawaiian word meaning my privilege, my honor and my responsibility) to understand and respect the culture of the place I call home. I am still learning. As time passes and my knowledge of Hawaiʻi becomes increasingly nuanced I have found myself alternately sad, frustrated and even angry by how the state is presented to, and treated by visitors — these feelings are the genesis of this body of work.
The project focusses on stereotypes and visual tropes embedded in pop culture images of Hawaiʻi. By placing my contemporary images in conversation with vintage postcards and ephemera I create a dialogue between past and present that exposes how a nuanced ancient culture, the place, and its people, are often commodified and reduced to caricatures.
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