‘Ā’KO’A - A BEAUTIFUL DEATH : Video Projection on Mycelium (Mixed Media)

‘Ā’ko’a invites the viewer to dive into the global story of coral reefs through various subjects of footage, including city life, land nature, and the sea. It uses projections to represent the “bleaching” of our world; just as coral bleach as a response to death.

Having been born and raised in Hawai’i and having constant access to ocean life, much of my work is marine-inspired. Passionate about coral reefs and their significance to planet function and health, I aspire to tell the scientific and cultural stories of coral through an abstract lens.

For this piece, I chose to use dedicated natural resources. Mycelium is used here not only for its minimal environmental impact, but as a parallel organism to coral. Like mycelium, coral reefs are both spaces and creatures. They are a connection of species, congruent with other life.

‘Ā’ko’a depicts a world without coral, and yet, provides us hope for maintaining these beautiful and critical creatures to preserve a world with them. There is a tension between beauty and decay. This piece aims to answer the question, Is there hope for regeneration after coral is damaged?