Stop-over findings
Hawaii
The Big Island, for four days. Gathering as much information that I could in the time I had there. My first day was spent wandering around the Liliuokalani Gardens in Hilo. I took photos and collected materials, a mix of natural and man-made.
Hawaii, The Big Island. Liliuokalani Garden Map. 17-01-24
I hired a car and spent one day in the Hawaii Volcanic Park, and one more driving around the Big Island. At one point I was attempting to walk to a place called Green Beach but I ended up stopping first on this little beach that was on the way and found there lots of washed up flotsam. I picked up everything around a log there and laid it out on the top of the log and took photos. I then of course had to carry the detritus back to my car to dispose of at the hostel.. There was not time to make any art with it, or collect the rest beyond the log.
Sea Turtles
It was amazing to see these sea turtles but the reality of the seeing, was kind of weird. Lots of people there taking photos, me included, obviously, and there was a lady sitting nearby telling people off. Rightly, we had to keep our distance and use no flash. This is their place where the turtles must come inland, quite frequently, which means there is this whole tourism thing there because of it. Humans crave to see the world’s creatures in their (diminishing) natural settings, and in that craving we change the very nature of the natural setting to something else with our presence. This is a post-card ideal photo, had a camera lens that could zoom in and cut all of us viewers out of the pic and pretend that we, the humans, are not there.
Dipping into a place like this, over 3 days, its all just surface impressions. There is so much to going on here. The landscape, its volcanic origins and the effects of ongoing lava flows, its location in the Pacific ocean, history of tsunami, tourism, and colonisation past and present, and other present day findings.
I found the one small piece of resistance on my first day, a small rock in amongst the offerings to Kanehameha The Great, and felt that I wanted to acknowledge it with a painting.
Hawaii is not America. 2024. Oil on Board
Seattle
Next stop Seattle for a few days. Big city impressions. Olympic Sculpture Park, and a Message in a Bottle.
Urban Decay
I am interested in urban decay or urban details. Shop fronts and windows and doors and walls. Graffiti. Repeating patterns in the urban scene. The windows and walls are like abstract paintings. Enjoy the rundown and empty unused look of it all. More photos in photography page. (link)
Seattle Market. Details
Meet this guy at the Seattle market selling hand made paper and leather (cowhide) bound sketch books. He showed me his sketchbook with notes and heaps of great drawings etc, I couldn’t resist buying one, thinking I would document my trip in it. I always have this notion that I will fill up a sketchbook in a similar fashion to this fellow, but I never end up using them in that way, despite the intention when obtaining one. I think I just like the freshness, the stash of blank pages and therefore the potential that a new sketchbook holds. I ended up pulling the book apart (sorry, Seattle Market guy), and using the paper to create what would become the work, Northernscapes at a later residency in Finland. Northernscapes later was selected as a finalist work in the NZ Print and Painting awards in 2025.
The Olympic Sculpture Park was a good find.
On the last day there I went back to the Sculpture Park and did a collection at a place called Pocket Beach. Pocket Beach was a project by the Seattle Art Museum that has enhanced the Elliot Bay waterfront for people and wildlife by relocating rock and stabilising the seawall and providing public access to the water.
I found one plastic bottle and lots of micro plastic in amongst the pebbles. The microplastic fitted inside the bottle perfectly, and became ‘A message in a bottle’, which I photographed and disposed of in a rubbish bin. The next day, I thought I should have photographed it with one of the Olympic Park Sculptures but it was too late for that little collaboration!
Impressions
Reflection Selfies
Toronto
I found Toronto grimy. There was a lot of rubbish and homelessness. It was still winter, and the sky was covered with clouds and mist Took lots of photos of urban moments, walked and walked, everything was interesting.
Niagara Falls
A day trip to Niagara Falls, which was so incredible to see. Glad I went in the winter with the snow and ice and not so many people. Photos ….link
Above the Falls. There is this big metal container stuck on the rocks just above the falls that apparently came loose, from a boat about 100 years ago…with 2 people aboard and it lodged on a rock and they were able to put an anchor down. They got rescued after about 30 hours and the container is still there!
The most weirdest thing was Niagara Falls town. It was like a mini-Vegas or Disney world or something just a bit crazy (in my view), totally set up for the entertainment of tourists. I suppose once the tourists have had enough of looking at the natural wonders of the Falls they can be entertained by all the fake and unnatural wonders in the town.
Copenhagen
Copenhagen Impressions, more bikes than cars, remembering to look left first when crossing the road, so didnt get run over by bikes. Copenhagen appeared tidy and organised and clean.
Loved this most tidy classical sculptures displayed in their organised disrepair and the black colour against the orange of the bricks.
