{"id":20669,"date":"2019-10-02T13:19:08","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T23:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/?p=20669"},"modified":"2019-11-01T08:40:44","modified_gmt":"2019-11-01T18:40:44","slug":"coral-reef-mural-adds-inspiration-and-beauty-to-coconut-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/announce\/news\/coral-reef-mural-adds-inspiration-and-beauty-to-coconut-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Coral reef mural adds inspiration and beauty to Coconut Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

A collaboration between marine scientists at the University of Hawai\u2018i (UH) at M\u0101noa and local artists has resulted in a beautiful and inspiring laboratory space at UH M\u0101noa\u2019s Hawai\u2018i Institute of Marine Biology<\/a> (HIMB).<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Madin<\/a> and Josh Madin<\/a> joined the UH M\u0101noa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> (SOEST) as HIMB research professors in May 2018.\u00a0 In their shared lab space, they conduct quite different yet complementary research.\u00a0One of the main areas of overlap: coral reefs and ocean conservation.<\/p>\n

When the researchers first saw the un-renovated version of what is now their lab space, E. Madin imagined a lively, underwater mural. She shared her passion for creating art with Beth Lentz, HIMB graduate student who conceived of and directed the SymbioSEAS science-art collaboration<\/a>, and eventually connected with local artists Nicole Maka\u02bb\u0101hina\u02bb\u0101lohilohi Jack, K\u016bpono Duncan and Cory Kamehanaokala Taum.<\/p>\n

Jack, Duncan, E. Madin and J. Madin discussed the lab\u2019s research interests and themes and the Madins shared satellite and drone imagery, and large, three-dimensional reconstructions of reefs from their field expeditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sent a slew of reef-related images and artistic photos to show the aesthetic we were looking for\u2014something more subtle and abstract than literal, and with a palette of colours like one would see when looking at reefs from underwater or from the air or space,\u201d said E. Madin. \u201cAfter that, the artists sent sketches of what they were envisioning. It fit with our vision remarkably well!\u201d<\/p>\n

The HIMB Facilities team and Director were engaged in the process and over the subsequent six months, with Jack and Duncan leading the effort, the team of three artists created the mural.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with Nicole, K\u016bpono and Cory was such a pleasure and they were incredibly professional,\u201d said E. Madin. \u201cThey were also really welcoming in terms of having us help with the painting itself, and we even ended up getting our children involved!\u201d<\/p>\n

E. Madin is hoping to get funding to do more of this type of work with school groups around Oahu.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal,\u201d she said, \u201cis to raise awareness through public murals of the many threats coral reefs in Hawai\u2018i are facing and what we as a larger community can do to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the artists <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nicole Maka\u02bb\u0101hina\u02bb\u0101lohilohi Jack<\/a> is a Native Hawaiian multimedia artist based in Honolulu. She has contributed to the design and execution of collaborative murals state wide, both as an independently commissioned artist and in her previous position as the Program Coordinator for The Estria Foundation\/ Mele Murals. Currently she is working in the field of Environmental Conservation and finds the natural world to be a primary influence in much of her art. Nicole also draws heavily on her collegiate background in Pacific Island Studies and finds profound inspiration in the industrious genius of her ancestors.<\/p>\n

K\u016bpono Duncan<\/a> is a Native Hawaiian artist from Kailua, O\u02bbahu. His artwork primarily attempts to bridge motifs of the past with experiences in the present, using contemporary mediums. K\u016bpono has numerous years of experience as a muralist, contributing to pieces on display at the Hawai\u02bbi Convention Center, Bishop Museum, Sheraton Waikiki, Mokul\u0113\u02bbia, The Hawai\u02bbi Institute of Marine Biology on Moku o Lo\u02bbe, and various buildings around Honolulu. He strives continuously to perpetuate his culture through multimedia art.<\/p>\n

For more photos of the project, visit the Elizabeth Madin Lab<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A collaboration between marine scientists at the University of Hawai\u2018i (UH) at M\u0101noa and local artists has resulted in a beautiful and inspiring laboratory space at UH M\u0101noa\u2019s Hawai\u2018i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). Elizabeth Madin and Josh Madin joined the UH M\u0101noa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) as HIMB research […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":20670,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}