Multi-disciplinary artist and 2015 ACC Fellow Leeroy New creates his latest site-specific and environmentally themed works for the Hawai‘i Triennial 2022 (HT22). Leeroy joins other dynamic artists and collectives from around the island and Asia Pacific as participants in the largest showcase of contemporary art in Hawaii.

For the eleven-week Triennial organized by Hawai‘i Contemporary, Leeroy’s commissioned work “Taklobo,” is an installation using bamboo and donated old surfboards and collected plastic bottles. Further described in their website, Leeroy New’s main piece for HT22 “brings his upcycling techniques into the current context of space exploration. The main work “Taklobo” (2022) is an alien floral structure constructed out of discarded surfboards. Nearby engulfing an existing trellis, is a new version of his biomorphic sculpture “Balete”—this iteration made from multicolored plastic junk such as water bottles. Like a mysterious vessel from outer space that has landed to transplant a colorful shape-shifting organism, New’s work sprouts on the lawn, perhaps alluding to the history of the gardens and a wider one of human exploration that saw the introduction of foreign species to newly found lands.”

The event is made possible by the Hawai‘i State Art Museum, through the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, and the non-profit MakeVisible. Venues for the city-wide exhibition include the Bishop Museum, Hawaii Theatre Center, Hawai‘i State Art Museum, Iolani Palace, Honolulu Museum of Art, Royal Hawaiian Center, and Foster Botanical Garden where Leeroy’s piece may be viewed until May 8. #hawaiitriennial2022 #HT22 Photo by Leeroy New