2021 Gift Print

Resilience

Kamran Samimi

relief print from basalt stone

This print serves as an acknowledgement of the earth beneath our feet - the source of all that we know and love. An artifact which contains the quiet, yet complex story of a stone’s passage through time, it may conjure an image of a cliff-face or landslide. A microscopic rendition of the macroscopic world, the stone's impression pays tribute to the stone's source: a mound of earth in the Pacific Ocean, and ball of earth in space. Produced by passing a thin sheet of basalt stone through a relief printing press, each print documents the gradual decomposition of the stone from the printing process. Through its fissures and fragments, it teaches us both about resilience and impermanence.

This edition comprises the first print edition to be produced at the new Bethel Street location of Honolulu Printmakers. Resilience was produced in an edition of 50, and is printed with traditional oil-based relief ink on archival Rives BFK tan paper. The print size is 11” x 15”.

Kamran Samimi grew up in rural Laupāhoehoe on Hawaiʻi Island, drawing inspiration from a range of sources and cultures. Building upon his experiences living in a world which is so dramatically changing, his multi-disciplinary art practice draws upon both the physical and intangible aspects of nature, seeing their capacity for insight on concepts of space, time, change, and resilience. In so viewing his work, one may discover new ways to see their environment, themselves, and the interconnectedness of humankind and nature.