Kahilu Theatre’s annual juried art exhibit, “A Climate of Change,” remains on display through June 2 in the Kohala Gallery.
Juror Michael Marshall, University of Hawaii at Hilo art department chairman, selected 28 works by 19 Hawaii-based artists from approximately 100 submitted pieces. Artists were asked to enter work that responds to the title of the exhibit, “A Climate of Change.’ Responses dealing with environmental, political, and social change were encouraged. The winners were announced at the opening reception on April 7.
First place was awarded to “Merchant and Richards: You Can Park Here, She’s Not a Meter Maid.” The artwork by Yvonne Yarber Carter and Keoki Apokolani Carter features photography, video and original score.
The multimedia collaborative work is a framed photograph to be viewed in concert with audio and digital images. It is an artistic interpretation of experiences in downtown Honolulu, a microcosm of change through the last two centuries in Hawaii. Richards Street runs mauka, near Iolani Palace to makai, near Aloha Tower.
The piece was inspired by recent visits to Oahu by Keoki and Yvonne that stirred powerful emotions, images, and concern — feelings of loss, incongruity, compassion, abiding love, rich memories and worry. Using imagery in the piece, and original sounds and music, the artists acknowledge a collective responsibility and the hope that our hearts are not lost, nor gone missing.
Second place went to “still water; reflect,” a piece by Mary Babcock made with reclaimed fishing nets and ropes. The piece is part of a larger body of work created from abandoned nets and lines reclaimed from Pacific waters and shores. It addresses human imposed threats to the world’s ecosystems and the interdependent nature of human consciousness and the material world.
Inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, it speaks of the necessity of settling the chaotic mind so that our engagement with the external world is benign and not harmful. It also reflects on lessons from water: agitation results in turbulence, stillness brings clarity. It questions where we currently fall on that continuum.
Third Place went to Tamara Moan for her watercolor on paper piece, “High Tide.” The piece was inspired by both the worldwide voyage of the Hokulea as well as the ongoing concern over the ocean’s health.
In addition to the juried exhibit winners, “still water; reflect” by Babcock and “Merchant and Richards: You Can Park Here, She’s Not a Meter Maid” by Yvonne Yarber Carter and Keoki Apokolani Carter were recommended by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to be added to the Arts in Public Places Collection.
“As a commissioner with the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture on the Arts, I’ve worked to bring greater recognition to Neighbor Island artists and to make the resources of the SFCA more available to Neighbor Island residents, so it gives me great satisfaction to see those efforts bear fruit so close to home,” said Sherman Warner, a member of the Board of directors of the Kahilu Theatre.
The Kahilu Galleries are free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays, as well as during all performances at Kahilu Theater.
Info: www.kahilutheatre.org/exhibits ■