Net_Work installation at Honolulu Museum of Art invites visitors to navigate through a weblike system in this participatory installation. The gallery space is connected and reorganized by abstract wall maps of global shipping, immigration, internet, air traffic and many others. Net_work plays with ideas of agency and autonomy in a global economy, and foregrounds notions of self-empowerment within predetermined systems. Stretched across the gallery like spontaneous gestures, Net_work brings new meaning to the term “throw net” often used by fishermen who cast nets into the water to catch fish.
The construction system uses fishing net as construction material to divide, manipulate and form transparent spatial systems. As visitors enter the system of nets, they will find their own direction on paths that lead through the installation. Net_work intends to prompt introspection on one’s ability to find self-awareness in existing paradigms, and draws attention to Hawaii’s multifaceted connections to the rest of world.
Designers : Hongtao Zhou and Kaili Chun
Curated by Healoha Johnston, collaborating artists Kaili Chun and Hongtao Zhou chose fishnets as a language appropriate for an installation that situates Hawaiʻi at the center of global engagement. Established in 1950, the Artists of Hawaiʻi exhibition highlights work by artists living in the islands, offering insights on our time and place through contemporary art.
