Pauahi Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, 2015
About me
I was born in Hawaii and grew up in Nu’uanu Valley, which is in Honolulu, on the island of O’ahu.
Members of my father’s family immigrated from Japan to Hawaii four generations back, and my mother’s family relocated from Germany and Europe to North America in the late 1800’s.
I spent much of my childhood, and continued throughout adulthood, to explore the forests and mountains of O’ahu and the Big Island of Hawai’i. From older generations and hiking companions I learned facts and fictions about the flora, fauna and geography of the islands. As a teenager I spent summers working in the volcano area of the Big Island and this experience has had a strong influence on my artwork themes and imagery.
After attending university in California and Iowa, I moved to England to teach fine art, and then worked with an arts organisation in Brighton.
Having travelled back ‘home’ to Hawaii as much as possible in previous years, I’ve observed the subtle and dramatic changes within this unique place over a lifetime. Although separated in time and space from my formative years, the distance between my two dwelling places serves to intensify and distil certain memories in a way that nourishes my art practice.
Selected Exhibitions & Projects
- The Leaping Place (installation), Pu’u-Ohia, Honolulu, 2016
- A Princess in Hove, drawings for film by Jane Couldry, Hove Museum, UK, 2015
- 32 Paintings, Phoenix Brighton, 2013
- Luakaha (painting installation), Nu’uanu, Honolulu, 2008
- Reunion, Rochester Gallery, Rochester, Kent, UK, 2006
- The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center Tenth Anniversary Exhibition, Honolulu, 2006
- Draw: Recent Work by Hal Lum and Karin Mori, The Contemporary Museum at FirstHawaiian Center, Honolulu, 2005
Related Experience
2009 – 2020: Artistic Programme Manager, Phoenix Brighton. I developed and managed a year-round programme of curated contemporary exhibitions and associated activities and events.
1992 – 2009: Founding member and part of the senior management team, Eye Level Studios & Gallery and Phoenix Brighton. I was instrumental in setting up this artist-led organisation, and I established and ran the exhibitions and education programmes.
Artist-Curator Projects
As an ‘artist-curator’ I have produced a number of exhibitions which involved collaborating with artists, designers, curators and people from a range of disciplines. Below are some of the projects I developed for Phoenix Brighton, which was an artist-led space.
I’m now focusing on ways of presenting my own artwork in various settings, and using the exhibition as a vehicle for exploring different approaches to narrative and storytelling.
Press & Release
This was series of immersive artist book exhibitions featuring work by artists from around the world. I developed this in collaboration with artist Ben Thomson at Phoenix Brighton.
In 2008 and 2013, I curated the exhibitions and accompanying programme, and Ben designed and constructed the gallery installation.
In 2016 I commissioned a new exhibition of international artists books that was guest curated Maddy Rosenberg and designers Curious Space.
This archived website covers exhibitions and events that I programmed, project managed, and/or curated between 2001 and 2009.
Teaching Experience
Assistant Professor of Art, New England College, West Sussex, UK, 1989-92
Education
- University of Sussex, Post Graduate Diploma in Arts Management, 1998
- The University of Iowa, MA, MFA in Painting and Drawing, 1988/89
- University of California at Santa Cruz, BA Fine Art, 1986
- University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1980-81
The Leaping Place (installation), Pu’u-Ohia, Honolulu, 2016