Bead embroidery screen-printed felt

I’m a researcher at the UH Insect Museum, a member of Honolulu Printmakers & the lead organizer of the art show. I have an undergraduate degree in art, I wrote an M.S. thesis on the evolution of wing pattern in tiny brown moths, and I wrote a doctoral dissertation on the early evolution of insects (way back before dinosaurs evolved). My favorite mediums have long been printmaking and fiber, and this year I began to finally unite the two by adding bead embroidery atop screen-printed felt. I love celebrating subjects we don’t usually see in art, whether insects (of course), slime molds, or toilets.

“Moana Surfrider, Waikiki Beach” features Halobates hawaiiensis. The genus Halobates, known as “water striders,” contains the only insects that live on the open ocean—the ocean being one of the very few habitats where we see almost no insects. The genus Halobates contains a few dozen species. Most live near some landmass, but a few truly live out in the middle of the ocean. There are two animal species that arrived to the Hawaiian islands by traveling atop the ocean: Halobates, and Homo sapiens. I liked the idea of comparing these insects to humans by showing a Halobates moving across the water, surrounded by the celestial symbolism we normally associate with human voyagers. And funnily enough, the “type locality” for Halobates (which you can think of as the iconic location for this species) is the ocean just beyond Waikīkī beach. The humble Halobates was a surfrider in Waikīkī long before anyone built hotels there.