STATEMENT

I am concerned with issues that affect my home, which despite the fact that I reside in Baltimore County currently, have to do with my true home of Hawaii.  I make art that is perhaps better suited to be seen by audiences within that state; this does not bother me, as that is that state I will return to practice my art within when I leave here.

I am very alarmed by issues within how the resources of small islands are used.  Within Hawaii, we are predicted to run out of fresh water by 2020.  By that same time, the goal of the State Dept of Businesses Enterprise, Development and Tourism(DBEDT) seeks to increase visitors to our state by over an 85 % increase above the year 1995.  The incredible amount of infrastructure and resources are more than I believe our home can withstand.  These ideals at cross purposes with each other.  I do not believe this is the best thing for my home. These ideals of tourism, transferred from the plantation mentalities of the past century, seek to enslave our state’s residents into menial service jobs paying lowly wages that leave them dependent upon not completing their full education as they are not required for these jobs, and leave them with pay that mandates housing extended families within small rented homes and working more than one full time job just to make ends meet.  I do not want my half Hawaiian son to grow up to believe these are the correct values for his lifetime. 

This work, which really points to issues that are the same for all small island nations dependent upon tourism, seeks to take a critical look at how water resources are used and distributed within these islands.  I am not content with the status quo-I seek to change mindsets within my home. To talk about attracting businesses other than tourism in one thing, to actually do something about it is not what I see when I look at the actions of the government of my state.  This work is meant to awaken thinking in regard to these issues, and how fragile our environmental economy really is,

https://vimeo.com/37441885