Hawaii, Our Own addresses the profound impact of tourism and colonialism and 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. As 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.
Hawaii, Our Own challenges long-held stereotypes and visual tropes that have been embedded into the pop culture image of Hawaiʻi for over a century. By placing my contemporary images in conversation with hand-written messages from vintage postcards, newspaper accounts and other ephemera I create a dialogue between past and present that exposes what ‘ownership’ of a place looks like and how colonial attitudes prevail in the tourism industry. Ultimately, a nuanced ancient culture, the place, and its people, continue to be commodified and reduced to caricatures.
Part of GREETINGS from The STATE of ALOHA , Hawaii, Our Own is a zine of the portfolio that was juried into the Pacific New Media Contemporary Photography in Hawaiʻi 2026 by Aline Smithson, photographer, educator and founder of Lenscratch. It was named as Best Concept Zine by David Ulrich, co-director of Pacific New Media at the exhibition.
Note: I intentionally exclude the diacritical mark from Hawaiʻi in the title of this project as it is a direct quote from a “Catch-Phrase on Hawaii” submitted to a contest sponsored by the Hawaii Promotion Committee and published in a local newspaper in 1906.
Specifications:
9 by 6 inches | Full Color, Saddle Stitched | 24 pages - 15 images
Price $20 | Limited Edition of 20 Zines (signed and numbered)
Contact me to purchase a limited edition signed copy of Hawaii, Our Own
Click an image to view the series in the Lightbox slider
