I luv Riso
Fluo orange and teal goodness.
Cook Island shell map graphic. This map was birthed through some really interesting cartography research that I have to go into as I find it interesting and I love to talk. In this project I really loved making these various future manifestations of ancient and tropical totems. This may be one of them.
Forget compasses, sextants and astrolabes. Ancient Pacific Islander sailors used stick charts called ‘Rebbelibs’, ‘Mattangs’ (or Wappepe) and ‘Medos’ to navigate the open ocean of Micronesia and Polynesia. Made with bamboo sticks to represent the currents and wind patterns and shells bound with coconut sennit to represent the islands, these devices were uniquely designed by each navigator, making them only interpretable by those who constructed them. Then they were memorised prior to voyage and set sail with nothing but the good ol’ human senses. Navigators would crouch in their canoes to literally feel every motion of the vessel. #motionoftheocean literally.
I mean.. this is some crazy ancient tech. The Pacific Ocean is larger than the landmass of all the continents on Earth combined so deciphering that with a bunch of sticks is pretty hardcore.
Nowadays stick maps are made and sold as tourist souvenirs. Lol. (Another interesting parallel that I just luv and touched on further throughout the project)
There’s over 25,000 Pacific islands with a combined population of only 2.3 million people speaking over 1,750 unique languages. (And I don’t even know one) 🧮🎏
Grad show, 2023
‘Transient Now: Polynesia hosts a series of works that explores and links themes of memory, nostalgia, mixed-ethnic identities, intertwining political discourse, visual culture and environmental issues. Effects of climate change will submerge small island nations across the pacific within the next century, creating a future generation of climate migrants. As Polynesian islands fade from the physical plane, the project questions how climate discourse is visualised and shaped; archiving, documenting and distributing personal histories involving Polynesia. British and Polynesian artist Caitlin creates ghosts of memoirs and abstracted manifestations of the future; made up of a publication, series of prints of photographs from trips and sculptures.’
Includes 3D resin prints, risograph prints, photo-litho prints, screen print and a book - made by moi.
🧘🏻♀️🧘🏻♀️🧘🏻♀️
