KAHULUI >> Honolulu artist Taiji Terasaki’s immersive multimedia exhibition “RESET/RESHAPE,” on display through Dec. 18 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Schaefer International Gallery, was conceived amid the tumultuous and historic events of 2020, intertwining themes ranging from racial inequality, climate change and food insecurity to scientific and technological innovation in art and society.
The exhibition presents an array of media including augmented reality, ceramics, film, installations and works on paper that transforms the gallery into a visual narrative that documents the artist’s pandemic journey.
One of the highlights is “Transcendients: 100 Days of COVID-19” (2020), which was recently exhibited at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Among those pictured in the large-scale weaving project are everyday heroes who rose up to help others during the pandemic, health care workers and the late George Floyd, whose murder by police in Minneapolis inspired global protests over racial injustice.
Created for the exhibition, Terasaki’s QR code-inspired weavings “Quick Response” (2021) features portraits of 10 “unsung heroes” and incorporates elements of augmented reality.
“This exhibition serves as a collective journey as we emerge from the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, with more awareness of our daily thoughts and actions and their subsequent consequences,” the artist said in a statement. “As such, this exhibition aims to transform tragedy to reflect upon the resilience of individuals and communities from all walks of life, from the Hawaiian Islands, the Continental U.S. and beyond, who have undergone physical and mental upheavals, brought on by the pandemic and its associated health and economic issues.”
Terasaki has spent years exploring avant-garde innovations in his art, working in photography, sculpture and large-scale installations, and pioneering mediums such at mist projections.
He made his public debut in 2017 with “REBIRTH” at the Ward Center in Honolulu and “Edible Landscapes for the Triennium” in conjunction with “Contact 3017: Hawai‘i in 1,000 Years” at the Honolulu Museum of Art. That same year, his first solo exhibition, “Feeding the Immortals,” premiered at the Ravizza Brownfield Gallery in Honolulu.
Schaefer Gallery Director Neida Bangerter said in a statement that Terasaki’s works “emphatically resonate at a human level and share the challenges and collective spirit we have been facing on a global scale. He brings us honesty and optimism with a multimedia infusion of contemporary history and resilience.”
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On view
>> What: Taiji Terasaki’s “RESET/RESHAPE”
>> Where: Schaefer International Gallery, Maui Arts & Cultural Center
>> When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, through Dec. 18
>> Cost: Free admission
>> Info: mauiarts.org; for groups of five or more, email Jonathan Clark at jonathan@mauiarts.org
