From Pele to Poli‘ahu. The Kuleana Of Change.

In 2018 Kilauea erupted in spectacular fashion upending thousands of lives including my own. My home of 20 years burned to the ground and I found myself relocated from the land of Pele to the land of Poli‘ahu *

Amidst the upheaval I had a realization — I had been granted a choice. I chose to react with gratitude, and to welcome and embrace the change, whatever it might bring. I called this Pele’s Gift, for had she not come in 2018, I might never have recognized the opportunity.

I decided to express Pele’s Gift in my artwork. This meant, among other things, working with materials that I had never tried before, and with old materials in completely new ways. I saw it all simply as my kuleana to keep working.

In Hawaiian, kuleana refers broadly to one’s duty, but it also implies a relationship and a harmony between the one tasked with the kuleana and the object of his responsibility.

For me it became The Kuleana Of Change.

Exhibition Statement, 2022

* Pele - the volcano goddess

* Poli‘ahu - the snow goddess