Simply put — this next story is a feast. To say that artist Taiji Terasaki has a lot on his plate is an understatement. His East Honolulu studio is bustling.
The 17-year Hawaiʻi resident didn’t start out wanting to be an environmental activist. But his artwork took a sharp turn from culture in the direction of science and sustainability some years ago as politics made him reassess what was important.
"My goal is not to simply illustrate things but to actually influence — the scientists and the artists influence each other. So I don't know how I could possibly influence the scientists on their research. But if I could, that would be amazing. And that would be a goal," he said.
Terasaki studied sculpture and ceramics, but today his work goes much beyond. He took the jump into augmented reality and the visual immersive experience. His “mist work” is a must-see. There is a wow factor you just have to experience to appreciate.
He gets his “mad scientist” innovative ideas from his late father and his artistic bent from his mother, who at 93 still has a steady hand creating floral watercolor studies.
"I'm interested in science, but I couldn't be a scientist. But that drive to innovate — and I think in visual arts, innovation is so critical. And then when you look at movements, that's how things change is through innovation," he said.
In Terasaki’s world, it’s all about interconnectivity. He will be featured in an inaugural event for the Hawaiʻi Food and Wine Festival this weekend, showcasing The Art of Food and Wine.
He'll use living things from his aquaponics garden and his skills with a kiln to create pieces of a masterpiece to be featured at the Halekulani dinner — the already sold-out festival finale.
Terasaki just opened an installation at the Port of Los Angeles highlighting coral conservation. It juxtaposes delicate origami techniques with metal shipping containers.
Come February, Terasaki has a show set to open in Tokyo after being chosen by the Nature Conservancy as its first artist-in-residence for Palmyra.
"It was a devastated island, but then Nature Conservancy took it over — and people talk about this is what Hawaiʻi once was. And if you go there, and you see all the wildlife, and all the diversity and how everything is just so harmonious. And the people are just these little insignificant part except that they made this happen, right. So that's the big difference for the modern age, I think, is that nature could use help from us now. And we have the power to do it," he said.
"Our goal is to have the inaugural exhibit there (in Tokyo), but then travel to other parts of the world. And it used to be a secret, Palmyra, but they decided that they want to tell the world about it because it's such a marvelous place," Terasaki added.
And as if that wasn't enough on his plate, Terasaki is working on a mural project in LA set to open next year. Its theme: Recipes to Nourish Community.
"I would say to any of you artists out there, if you could connect to nonprofits and connect to their mission, and find a way to help explore, and I don't wanna say illustrate, that's not the right word, but how to work with them. I think that's become kind of a model for us," he said.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Nov. 1, 2022. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
