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Inverse expression, textured simplicity

Hui No‘eau artist-in-residence’s transformative mural underscores Wahi Pana Auwahi exhibition

Mazatl works from a scaffold as he creates a mural that will ultimately encompass the entire History Room — ceiling included — at the Hui No‘eau Visual Arts Center in Makawao. -- Photo courtesy the artist /Hui No‘eau Visual Art Center

With the stroke of a brush, Mazatl unleashes fantastic creatures from the dark with an artistic wizardry that might leave lesser mortals baffled.

The graphic artist and printmaker from Mexico City, selected for the 2018 Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center’s 2018 Artist in Residence program, is transforming the Hui’s History Room into an allegorical vision of the island’s pre-colonization wilderness. At the end of six weeks, the center will display Mazatl’s work in both the Grafica: Auwahi and Wahi Pana Auwahi exhibitions.

The stunning black-and-white mural encompasses the entire space, much of it still engulfed in rich black. With each dab of white paint, he slowly coaxes a vibrant tableau using an inverse process conceptually similar to a sculptor liberating a masterpiece from a slab of marble.

“I feel like I’m making a bridge between two techniques,” he says. “I appreciate the simplicity of black and white. There’s a texture that I really like, not just creating contrast, but the idea that with one tool you can create so many different things, different feelings and different emotions.

“I think it’s hard for people to understand [the process],” Mazatl continues. “A lot of people have a negative association with the color black, which is a commentary on many things — racism, religion. It scares people, especially when you’re doing a mural, people are like ‘Why are you painting everything black?’

Close up of Mazatl as he applies white paint on black in his distinctive inverse process; Mazatl’s unique style on paper in a piece entitled “Ignite.” -- Photo courtesy the artist /Hui No‘eau Visual Art Center

Ringing the ceiling, a lei of white swirls undulate in ribbons reminiscent of banana leaves and waves. On the wall that is nearing completion, a majestic Hawaiian crow — now critically endangered — skewers a rodent with a spear clutched in its talons against a backdrop of mountainous volcanoes.

At its simplest interpretation, the savage scene might be a commentary on the epic battle between native and invasive species. Delving deeper, it could represent the fierce struggle to protect and preserve Hawaiian culture from the swarm of outside influences.

When asked about the symbolism, Mazatl diplomatically defers to the viewer.

“I really want people to interpret that however they want,” he explains. “I have my own interpretation, and I’m happy to start the conversation, but the conversation has to end with the response of the viewer.”

The artist acknowledges that the image borders on violent, but astutely points out that violence isn’t inherently bad; it’s part of the cycle of life. It’s our collective perception that drapes it in an ominous cloak before sweeping it under the rug.

Mazatl’s influence is worldwide, as evidenced by mural “Conexion,” a collaborative public art installation found on the streets of London, England. -- Photo courtesy Hui No‘eau Visual Art Center

“Birth is violent and draws blood,” Mazatl observes. “There’s rupture and hardship, but it’s one of the most beautiful acts that we engage in as humans. But we don’t want to deal with violence; we just want to look at pretty things.”

There’s a raw honesty to Mazatl’s mural that challenges the viewer to abandon preconceived notions of life and death, creation and extinction, self and society. He believes that speaking the truth brings healing and that avoiding uncomfortable issues isn’t the solution.

“I’m not a very light thinker,” he admits. “When I think about things, there’s always a critical aspect to it.”

Mazatl’s mural, when completed, will serve as an adjunct centerpiece in the upcoming Wahi Pana Auwahi exhibition designed to bring awareness to the Auwahi Forest Restoration Project.

According to Katie Peterson, Hui No’eau exhibitions and membership coordinator, Mazatl’s mural, printmaking and wood-block print creations reflect values consistent with the exhibition’s environmental theme and the center’s overall sensibilities.

Another of Mazatl’s creations, a mural entitled “Rio Gualcarque” located in Rio Blanco, Mexico. -- Photo courtesy Hui No‘eau Visual Art Center

“Mazatl focuses so much on conservation and animal rights with these really charismatic, animated depictions of animals, we decided to combine the artist-in-residence program with the Auwahi exhibition project,” she explains, adding that they were equally intrigued by the artist’s distinctive methods.

“We thought it was really interesting how he does his murals,” Peterson continues. “When you’re doing a wood block print, you start out with a block of wood and carve away. When he does his murals, he starts out with a black canvas and paints in white in the places he would be carving. From an artistic standpoint, it’s a fascinating process.”

Finding Mazatl — who had never visited Hawaii before — and bringing him to Maui was a group effort, Peterson notes.

“The connection came through our executive director [Caroline Killhour]. She and her son are both printmakers, and they had been following Mazatl’s work on social media.”

With more than 62,500 Instagram followers, Mazatl is known for collaborating with groups, collectives and movements that champion social, political and environmental justice through art.

His diverse portfolio includes large-scale woodcuts and graphic murals in public spaces –his preferred gallery.

An advocate for accessability and openness in art and in life, he says he’s not interested in playing the game of “my work sells for this much.”

“I just enjoy doing what I do and I believe in it,” he says. “Whether it sells or not, I’m going to keep doing it.”

A grant from the Laila Twigg-Smith Art Fund of Hawai’i Community Foundation allowed the Hui to bring Mazatl to Maui for his first ever visit.

While Mazatl’s work seamlessly segues into the Wahi Pana Auwahi exhibition, the purpose of the summer show was already in development prior to Mazatl’s selection, Peterson explains.

“We had been talking with Art Medieros of the Auwahi Forest Restoration Project about the idea of doing a show, and then Caroline [Killhour] had the idea of combining it with Mazatl’s visit. So we adjusted the timing of the show to lineup with the residency.”

The exhibition, which opens to the public on June 30, will be hung chronologically in four realms or sections, reveals Peterson.

“The first realm will be the pre-contact forest. The second will be the forest as a toolbox for early Hawaiians, because it was full of amazing material for them to use. The third follows the introduction of invasive species and the decline of the native forest, and the fourth will reflect current conservation efforts and a vision for the future.”

In addition to the standard juried selection process in which the public can submit pieces for consideration, Hui has invited select local artists whose work demonstrates a connection to the forest conservation theme.

“There are volunteer crews that are working on reforesting Auwahi, and artists have been hiking up there too,” Peterson says. “With this exhibition in particular, we made it an entry requirement that the artists have to go on a dedicated hike or attend an info session [about the Auwahi Reforestation Project]. They can’t just pull something out of their portfolio; they really have to learn about it.”

In addition to the large-scale mural, Mazatl will contribute a second piece to be featured in the general exhibition.

For Hui No’eau, Mazatl’s inclusion in the exhibition is a sweet slice of icing-on-the-cake synergy

For Mazatl, he gets to explore a rich culture and landscape different from his own and communicate his impressions through art.

“I try not to come with a preconceived idea, but come here and experience it from my own perspective while trying to be respectful of Hawaii’s culture and history,” he says.

He spent the first three weeks of his residency period researching native culture, which he says he found challenging because much of it has been passed down through oral tradition rather than written historical documentation.

When it comes to honoring the Earth and her inhabitants, Mazatl intimates, there’s a universal language that revolves around one word: Love. And he sees that as the driving force behind the Auwahi Forest Restoration Project.

“A lot of people today are only interested in superficial things and immediate gratification,” he reflects. “Trees take a long time to grow. It’s really a work of love to put something into the ground that you might not see grow. It’s not instant.”

“I think it teaches a lot of different lessons beyond the obvious ones like preservation and conservation of nature; it’s understanding the relationship between the natural world and humanity.”

Mazatl stresses the vital importance of delving deep beneath the surface when it comes to conservation and environmental issues plaguing our world.

“Conservation won’t really make a difference if we’re not talking about the root of the problem and where we want to go,” he says. “There would need to be a lot of hard changes to have closer harmony with nature. While there’s no ideal, I feel that the closer we get to it, the better.”

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