Poignant Pics no. 81: On Ann Mitchell's "Chance Chronicle Animations nos. 3 & 6"
“Aia i Kohala, i Puehuehu”
—Ancient Hawaiian Proverb (translation: “Nothing more is left.”)
I'm despondent about the catastrophic fire that devastated Lahaina last week. Honolulu, Hawai'i, has been my home since May 1995, the longest I have ever lived anywhere. I got my bachelor's degree, married a local man, and raised our hapa (mixed-race) family here. I can read and write 'ōlelo Hawai'i, studied the culture and history as part of my undergraduate education, and worked as the Hawaiian music buyer for the (now-defunct) store that sold the most Hawaiian music albums in the world. After all this time, I'm more local than malihini (foreigner), but I wasn't born and raised here, so I will never be kama'āina (a child of the land.) We do not refer to state residents as "Hawaiians"—for obvious reasons.
As the videos and images slowly emerged from Maui to the rest of the world, I became increasingly upset. Upset at the horror, the devastation, the lives lost, the history reduced to ashes, the idea of a now needing to think about fire hurricanes not just wind and water ones, about the entitled and seriously tone-deaf comments in timeshare owner groups on Facebook by owners angry about cancellation of their Maui vacation or who plan to come anyway because “It should be up and running in a month. Don't they have generators?" And don't even get me going about climate crisis deniers, especially those in our government actively blocking policy change to keep their monied, influential donors happy.
As the days since the fire pass with little change in circumstances, the anger and frustration of the survivors grows deeper. Likely there is no single cause of the fire, but no one knows the precise reason yet, and it will be a while before we know. My own highly unscientific theory is that it was the result of a convergence of weather with many factors: the impact of historical colonialism, land use, water rights, greed, drought, planting of non-native and invasive species, poor infrastructure, equipment malfunction, and the climate crisis—all resting somewhere upon the foundation of human behaviors, actions, and inactions.
In my sadness, I found myself looking for comfort in imagery, and pretty vistas of what Maui used to be in recent years were not what the doctor ordered. I gravitated to a work Ann Mitchell did a few years back, the Chance Chronicle animations, specifically nos. 3 and 6, because when I look at them I feel a sense of melancholy, sadness, and, finally, hope. I've long admired Mitchell's ability to conjure composited worlds that look at once real and as if we traveled back in time. She makes images I wish I had thought of making. Her combination of platinum printing with almost deserted landscapes adds to the timeless quality of her imagery.
Mitchell writes, "These are spaces of transition. I create a world between a dream and a cinematic still. There is a sense that the space and narrative continue beyond the frame, with echoes from a past existence, and that nature will eventually have its way with us. The objects within the frame are the characters - they embody hope, loss, life, age, and strength. Each of these animations are moments where you stand and experience this world."
In a case of life echoing art, her words, my interpretation, and the situation here in Hawaii converged. Thank you, Ann, for this work that comforted me this weekend.
*Notes on Aia i Kohala, i Puehuehu: Translation-Gone to Kohala, to Puehuehu. “Kohala” is a place name meaning “cherished land'“, and “Puehuehu” a place name coming from the word “puehu” meaning “to scatter like dust”; it also plays on the distance between two areas, both on the territory of the Kohala coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. Metaphorically it means “Nothing more is left,” and was used to talk about someone who has lost everything.
Artist Bio
Ann Mitchell is an artist who uses photography to explore space and place, actively engaged in creating worlds of poetic experience. After completing a BFA in Photography from Art Center College of Design, she worked as an award-winning advertising and editorial photographer for over a decade. She then returned to school to complete a MFA in Art from Claremont Graduate University. After graduation she joined the Art Department at Long Beach City College, where she taught for over two decades, hosted multiple visual media festivals, served as Chair and as Digital Media Program Coordinator. In 2020 she transitioned into being an actively practicing full-time artist while continuing to teach through workshops, curation and individual tutoring.
More of her work can be found here: https://www.ann-mitchell.com
Author Bio
Diana Nicholette Jeon is an award-winning artist based in Honolulu, HI, who works primarily with lens-based media. Her work has been seen both internationally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Jeon holds an MFA from UMBC.