Forest Eater, conceived specifically for the Honolulu Contemporary Art Museum, explores the mystical and phenomenological aspects of volcanoes. The exhibition title refers to the Hawaiian legend of Pele--ancient goddess of fire, lightning, and volcanoes--who still holds a prominent place in the collective imagination of many contemporary Hawaiians. Pele represents both the destructive and creative forces of all volcanic activity, simultaneously taking and giving life. She is Ka wahine ‘ai honua: “the woman who devours the land.”
The paintings move between abstracted and pictorial representations of Pele and the Hawaiian landscape, depicting not a tropical paradise but a more evocative, haunting portrait of the islands.
Forest Eater, with its many allegorical and symbolic references, comprises approximately fifty paintings and works on paper and four site-specific sculptures. The largest of the sculptures is Wrath, a forbidding eighteen-foot long vertical lava formation, hanging from the museum’s ceiling.
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Flow no. 2, 2011 oil on wood panel 10 x 8 inches
Forest Eater, 2011 oil on linen 36 x 24 inches
Legend No. 1, 2010 gouache on paper 17.75 x 13.75 inches
Pele's Hair, 2010 watercolor on paper 14 x 10 inches
Portrait, 2011 oil on linen 24 x 20 inches
Remains, 2011 oil on wood panel 20 x 16 inches
Tephra no. 1, 2010 watercolor on paper 22.25 x 15 inches
Throat, 2011 oil on wood panel 16 x 16 inches
Fissure Vents, 2011 oil on linen 24 x 30 inches