TEMPLE CHILDREN ARTIST FILMS
‘KINDRED SPIRITS’ Exhibition and Residency RECAP by emad rashidi
Recap film by Emad Rashidi for our 'Kindred Spirits: Exploring Interrelationships between People, Places and Planet Earth' residency and exhibition in the Fall of 2019 at East Hawai'i Cultural Center Hawai'i Museum of Contemporary Art in Hilo, Hawai'i.
‘He Kauwā ke Kanaka (The Land is our Chief)’ by Emad Rashidi
This film was produced as an art piece for our 'Kindred Spirits: Exploring Interrelationships between People, Places and Planet Earth' residency and exhibition in the Fall of 2019 at East Hawai'i Cultural Center Hawai'i Museum of Contemporary Art in Hilo, Hawai'i.
Artist Statement: I spend a majority of my time learning and exploring different cultures, people and places. I feel that there is so much good that is possible if people can begin to understand each other and how they live. I am fascinated at the way of life here on the Big Island of Hawai’i. To me, people here have a deeper understanding and connection to the Earth. On my second Temple Children residency in Hawai‘i, I wanted to understand the ways people here are connected to the island. From reforestation efforts to bring back native trees, to knowing how to live off the land - the people that call this place home have a strong appreciation for the land and sea, and what they can provide. In two weeks, I met and connected with individuals all over the Big Island. This short film shares some of those moments, and shares a glimpse into a culture that has so much to teach and offer the rest of us.
Mahalo to every person featured in this film, and for your willingness to share your lives and stories with me. In order of appearance: Ka'ikena Scanlan Justin Lee Kūlia Tolentino-Potter Jesse Potter Jimi Kunimura Glenn Kunimura Brandon Lee. Thank you to EHCC, the County of Hawai'i, Keaukaha One Youth Development, NOVO Painting, and over 30 local businesses + friends and family who made this project possible.
‘KINDRED SPIRITS: Exploring Interrelationships between People, Places and Planet Earth’ Exhibition and Residency by emad rashidi
This film was produced as an art piece for our 'Kindred Spirits: Exploring Interrelationships between People, Places and Planet Earth' residency and exhibition in the Fall of 2019 at East Hawai'i Cultural Center Hawai'i Museum of Contemporary Art in Hilo, Hawai'i.
‘nothing is separate: a collaboration with nature’ by ellen rutt, FILM BY EMAD RASHIDI
‘Nothing Is Separate: A Collaboration with Nature,’ is an experimental, traveling installation created in collaboration with mixed-media artist Ellen Rutt as part of our Fall 2017 artist residency in Hilo, Hawai‘i.
By creating intuitive compositions of painted, repurposed wood shapes and costumes at several of the island’s majestic, distinct and isolated terrains, Rutt explores the complex relationship humans have with both natural and constructed environments. The bright colors and familiar shapes signal our attraction to aesthetics and modes of idealized presentation.
“I’m acknowledging my own contradictions and our collective moral flexibility - how we are simultaneously celebrating the sacredness of the natural world, while also engaging in practices that knowingly or unknowingly contribute to its destruction. We are balanced on a continuum between understanding the infinite nature of existence and participating in the mundane routine of everyday life.” - Ellen Rutt
Film by Emad Rashidi // Music by Weval.
RESIDENCY DIRECTOR'S CUT BY EMAD RASHIDI
A peek into our experimental residency on the Big Island of Hawaii'i, merging food + art + environment for the benefit of the Hilo community, featuring Ellen Rutt, Cryptik, MEGGS, Emad Rashidi, Shun Ceramics, Mark and Soni Pomaski of Moon and Turtle, and Ernie Gray of Poke Market.
Shot and Directed by our featured filmmaker-in-residence, Emad Rashidi / Music by Emiliano Secchi, "The Reason."
‘ABOVE & BENEATH’ MURAL, RECAP BY ANDREW RICHARD HARA
‘Above and Beneath,’ is a collaboration between Temple Children x House of Meggs x Andrew Richard Hara at the Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center, created with the objective of bringing new color, movement and life to the area as part of #ActivatePuna. The design is inspired by photographs captured by Hawai‘i Island-native Andrew Hara of the raw, natural and ever-changing landscape of Puna during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. The 3,000+ square-foot abstract artwork celebrates Puna community unity, resilience, and regeneration, and pays homage to the Big Island's celestial elements of earth, fire and water.
'Revitalize Hilo' RESIDENCY, FILM BY CORY S. MARTIN
This fully immersive public art and sustainability activation featured artists Jet Martinez, Yoskay Yamamoto, Rick Hayward, Emily Devers, Sam Yong, Kai'ili Kaulukukui and Brandy Serikaku; and our visiting filmmaker Cory S. Martin. Our goal was to connect them to Big Island culture, environment, and food, and to create a platform where they could contribute to these values through their art. The six murals in Downtown Hilo are representative of the residency exchange and what our artists believed would positively resonate with our community.
‘A DAY IN WAIPI'O,’ FILM BY CORY S. MARTIN
An overarching aspect of our residency project is food sustainability. With the help of our community, we feed our artists near to 100% locally sourced Big Island fare and teach them why eating local is vital in lowering your carbon footprint. We encourage action in addition to awareness and positive messaging through our public artworks.
Mahalo to Kulia and Jesse from Pohaha I Ka Lani for allowing us the platform to educate and give back to our island.
‘puna strong,’ recap by andrew richard hara
‘Puna Strong’ is a mural collaboration by Puna-native Kai’ili Kaulukukui and Pāhoa High & Intermediate School students. This is the final piece in our #ActivatePuna art series, made possible by Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz and the County of Hawai’i.
The concept for this piece is based on ideas from 200+ art students at PHIS, who were asked to describe what ‘aloha, kōkua, ahupua’a and resilience’ means to them since the 2018 eruptions, and how they see these concepts represented visually.
KILAUEA ECOGUIDES LAVA TOUR, VIDEO BY CORY S. MARTIN
Connecting the artists to our living island is a vital element of our residency. Mahalo to Storm and Malia of Kilauea EcoGuides for partnering with us to provide education and cultural context for our visitors when experiencing these sacred places.
Through Kilauea EcoGuides' guidance and expertise, we were able to take our 2016 visiting artists to experience a very rare lava "skylight."
temple children presents ‘verso,’ murals in the market, detroit
‘VERSO’ was created for 1xRun’s ‘Murals in the Market’ in Detroit in September 2016. Inspired by the rich history of Detroit’s Eastern Market and its surroundings, ‘VERSO' pays homage to abandoned spaces in the city, where Mother Nature is beginning to take back. Temple Children celebrates this as the turning of the leaves and a shift in consciousness. This experiential installation reflects their ideology that in an upside down, consumer-driven society, simplicity is key. Our choices directly affect our communities and natural resources, and we aim to do so with positive action. The wood and materials used in VERSO were found in areas surrounding Eastern Market and repurposed to create an immersion of space. Meggs and Miya sourced plants and produce from local farmers and fed the ‘Murals in the Market’ artists and staff a home-cooked meal inspired by Eastern Market’s seasonal offerings. Their ’seed pods’ were reinstalled in places around the city and all of the plants were given away to good homes.
Filmed by Cory Martin | Additional footage by Selina Miles | Music by Drummer B.