Reviews artasiapacific.com^129China and Taiwan, in descending order of the
number of nuclear power plants operating in
each. This number corresponds to the sizes of the
chandeliers, whose glass pieces are made from
depleted uranium. In ultraviolet light, they cast an
uncanny green glow. The chandeliers alienate and
penetrate to evoke the dread of the Cold War.
The challenge undertaken by the Biennial was
that of managing an entry into the international
art circuit, while also addressing the needs
and epistemologies of islands that continue to
be occupied and colonized. Alongside Nanjo’s
statement was another by curator Ngahiraka
Mason, who asks: “Who are biennials for—the local
community or for artists, curators, or institutional
recognition on the world stage?” Here, in the
context of settler colonialism, tourist development
and indigenous resistance, the word “local” is
contested and problematic. The artworks challenge
the hegemonic gaze, but it is unclear whether they
manage to bind the Oceanic community as Hau‘ofa
envisioned. It will be worth watching to see if the
Honolulu Biennial taps into the spirit of Pow!
Wow! just a few blocks away, which literally shapes
the spaces around people’s lives, and emphasizes
creative process and community collaboration. If
the Honolulu Biennial innovates in its operation,
it will not be by importing an operational format
that is all too common in today’s art world, but by
enacting a vision for art only possible in Oceania.
HENRY WEI LEUNGsoundtrack that is part tribal and part electronica,
and totally absent of speech. We journey through
culturally specific motifs, such as the roots of
the pohutukawa tree at Cape Reinga that are a
departure point for the dead, but our experience of
the myths at work does not depend on knowledge
of the allusions. This speaks to the video’s power to
stand alone aesthetically.
Tahiti-based artist Alexander Lee’s multi-
room installation, Te atua vahine mana ra o
Pere (The Great Goddess Pere) (2017), works on
a mythical level with modern-day implications.
Heavy curtains, painted like burning cinders in
varying hues, separate two rooms. In the first,
we encounter porcelain objects arranged in glass
encasements: curled artifacts of fallout, or pieces
of shells (Pere, goddess of the volcano, was said to
have originally migrated across the islands in the
form of a red crab). In the second room, we stand in
the center of a wide expanse, on whose black walls
are massive ink splotches, each one alternating
between grays, blues and reds. At first glance, these
are the mushroom clouds of nuclear explosions;
at another glance, they are organisms forming
in water; at another glance, they are starburst
galaxies, echoing the French nuclear detonation
tests that were named after stars in the Pacific
region. By suggesting Pere in the place of man-
made weapons of mass destruction, this work gives
us a vision of universal awe—of cosmic destruction
as well as creation—rendered in a perspective only
possible from the Polynesian islands.
One of the most emotionally disturbing
installations was from Japanese artist couple Ken
and Julia Yonetani’s series, “Crystal Palace: The
Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All
Nuclear Nations” (2013–16), although its relation
to the Biennial’s theme is worth questioning. This
is not a work of art from Oceania’s sea of islands,
but from the empires of decay around them. The
title alludes to the 1851 World’s Fair in London, the
“Crystal Palace Exhibition” or “Great Exhibition
of the Works of Industry of All Nations,” critiquing
the consequences of unchecked progress. Featured
at the Biennial were four of the crystal chandeliers
from the series, representing America, Japan,Opposite page, top
MARQUES HANALEI MARZAN
‘A‘ahu Kino Lau
2017
Textile, cordage and foliage, dimensions variable.
Courtesy the artist and Honolulu
Biennial Foundation.
Opposite page, bottom
JANE CHANG MI
Installation view of Pu’uloa and The Eyes of the
Gods (both 2017), at the Honolulu Biennial, 2017.
Courtesy the artist and Honolulu
Biennial Foundation.
This page, top
ALEXANDER LEE
Te atua vahine mana ra o Pere
(The Great Goddess Pere)
2017
Multi-room installation, ceramic, ink on paper,
acrylic on cotton, acrylic and ink on polypropylene
and timed performances, dimensions variable.
Courtesy the artist and Honolulu
Biennial Foundation.
This page, bottom
KEN AND JULIA YONETANI
Crystal Palace: The Great Exhibition of the Works
of Industry of All Nuclear Nations (China)
2016
Uranium glass, antique chandelier
frames, electrical components and
ultraviolent lights, 150 x 150 x 130 cm.
Courtesy the artists, Mizuma Art Gallery,
Tokyo, and Honolulu Biennial Foundation.