AGGRO-culture–October 1-28, 2010
There is no denying that agriculture is front and center in the World’s eye these days. Driven mainly by population growth, increased demand, economies and grass root movements, a spark of regional awareness and concern has come to light. Four Hawai’i based artists with ties to the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island will explore the themes of sustainability, environmental impact, and local food production through a variety of media and methodology. Using approaches ranging from collage, printmaking, photography, painting, sound, video and sculptural installation, the artists will explore such topics as GMO’s, local farm commerce, plantation history, and native ecosystems, responding and reflecting on issues that are of both regional and global concern.
Margo Ray will construct an installation inspired by Hawaiian ranching history, culture and the structures that exist there, including water tanks, corrals, barbwire fences and cattle troughs. Primarily built in the 1920'-60's these represent the unique Hawaiian ranching culture of the Paniolo (Hawaiian Cowboy) that is disappearing quick as multinational companies drive cattle prices lower and lower. This project expresses nostalgia for open spaces, and working with plants and animals as opposed to hotels and restaurants.
Ray is a printmaker, installation and book artist from the Big Island of Hawai’i. She holds an MFA from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec and a BA in Studio Arts from University of Hawaii at Hilo. She currently has an exhibition at the Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center and has previously shown her work throughout the state of Hawaii as well as venues such as the Parisian Laundry in Montreal, Quebec and Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Scott S. Yoell’s sculpture takes on the repackaging of the natural world by genetically modified foods, and contends that agricultural practices that seek to maximize yields at the cost of the complex ecological relationships that make our agriculture sustainable are in fact, “anti-natural.” His video piece explores an abandoned, rusted and broken wind-farm on the Big Island and raises paradoxical environmental questions. Still images in the video landscape function as a point of tension between stillness and moving forward in such precarious times.
Yoell uses both traditional and electronic media with a BFA from the University of Windsor, Canada, and a MFA in Imaging and Digital Arts from the University of Maryland. His upcoming exhibitions include Videoholica 2010 International Video Art Festival, Varna, Bulgaria and the The Contemporary Museum's Biennial of Hawaii Artists.
Sally Lundburg’s work explores human connections and collisions with the native landscape. Her initial research included hiking in both the Hakalau National Forest and Kalopa State Park, and gathering history and imagery from the local community. Utilizing scientific facts, harvested koa wood, cultural myths, archival photos, film and sound… the resulting work takes form in paintings, sculptural installation and video.
Lundburg is a mixed-media artist who holds a Bachelors in Fine Arts degree from The San Francisco Art Institute and has exhibited in San Francisco at such venues as Southern Exposure, Quotidian Gallery, and the New Nothing Cinema. She has also won several international film awards for her documentary film One Winter Story.
Native Hawaiian artist Keith Tallett conveys a personal interpretation of our cultural relationship to the land. His research for this show has involved an extended period of gathering information, images and organic material from the land around where he lives and Hawaiian popular culture. His work explores the blurred lines that define authenticity, where the merging of contemporary culture with that of the natural world becomes a metaphor for native–verses–nonnative through photography, paintings, and sculptural installation.
Tallett is a mixed media artist born and raised in Hilo, on the Big Island. Keith has an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and a BA from the University of Hawaii at Hilo. He has exhibited at such venues as the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Track 16 Gallery in Los Angeles, and Franklin Parrasch Gallery in New York.
Visit margoray.com, scottyoell.com, sallylundburg.com, and keithtallett.com for more information.