Claire Unabia and MAtthew H. James

CLAIRE UNABIA AND MATTHEW H. JAMES

Through performance art Claire Unabia unearths her ancestral ties to Hawai'i, while re-evaluating her identity and weaving the tales of her many ethnicities in this modern time where cultural connections can become tenuous. 

Matthew H. James is a contemporary artist based in Brooklyn, NYC originally from Manoa, Oahu. He is known for his innovative mixed media art, expressing the human condition through various media from large scale paintings to sculpture and performance art. He has exhibited all around the world from Honolulu to Iceland, Italy, Paris, Manila and NYC. 

The purpose of the installation will be to create an immersive dialog with the viewers who enter the space alas well as creating a space that the performers from hawaii can interact with and bring their art to talk about the history and culture of hawaii. The aesthetics will draw from Yuen dynasty Buddhist wall paintings. The intention with this residency is to spark conversation about culture and how it affects our perception of time and space.