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.
The project focusses on stereotypes and visual tropes embedded in pop culture images of Hawaiʻi and takes a critical look at tourism culture from the perspective of a long-time resident who straddles the line between insider and outsider. By placing my contemporary images in conversation with vintage postcards and ephemera I create a visual dialogue between past and present that exposes the facade of the tourism industry in Hawaiʻi and how it might be a surrogate for other places that suffer under the effects of mass tourism and colonial attitudes.
These images are part of a larger body of work simply titled The STATE of ALOHA – an excerpt shown without vintage postcards and ephemera can be found here. It was also portfolio featured in the Contemporary Photography in Hawai’i 2022 exhibit under the title HIdealized.