Sunday,
February 18, 2007
Wallis Estate on Ekolu St., Isenberg Tract, Lihue, across
from Wilcox Hospital.
The Kauai Society of Artists
presented a slide lecture "Waikiki: A History of Forgetting
and Remembering" with Gaye Chan, professor and Chair of the
UH Manoa Department of Art and Art History on Sunday,
February 18, 2007, at the historic Wallis Estate on Ekolu
St., Isenberg Tract, Lihue, across from Wilcox Hospital. The
event, free to the public, was attended by over forty people
and began with a viewing of the estate followed by Ms.
Chan's presentation.
Ms. Chan presented her work as
resident artist of DownWind Productions, a collaborative
that she co-founded in 1998. She has contributed her talent
in creating a range of unique, smart and witty educational
products disguised as 'tourist souvenirs', travel website,
and most recently, a 'coffee table' book. Also contributing
to the presentation was Nandita Sharma, another collaborator
on the project, and fellow educator at UH. All of their work
aims to expose tourists and locals alike to the impact of
colonialism, capitalism, and tourism on Hawai'i, and to
imagine different relationships with each other and with our
own desires and longings. Chan presented a history of
Waikiki through archival photographs, focusing in particular
on the role of photography as a colonizing tool and its
counter-hegemonic potential within the politics of
forgetting and remembering. Chan was born in Hong Kong and
immigrated to the United States in 1969. She received her
MFA from San Francisco Art Institute. She is a visual and
media artist recognized equally for her individual and
collaborative work. Her ongoing interest in found
photographs has culminated in solo exhibitions at Honolulu
Academy of Art, Art in General (New York), YYZ (Toronto),
Artspeak (Vancouver), Gallery 4A (Sydney), SF Camerawork
(San Francisco), and The Contemporary Museum (Honolulu).
More information on Chan's work can be found at
<http://www.gayechan.com> and
<http://www.DownWindProductions.com>.
Mahalo to Gaye Chan, Nandita Sharma, Jim and Gina Guerber
for the use of the estate, and to all the volunteers and
participants. This event was sponsored by KSA with support
in part from Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
through appropriations from the Hawaii State Legislature and
the National Endowment for the Arts.
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About the
Wallis Estate
The "Wallis Estate" was
designed by Vladimir Ossipoff in the late 1940s for
Dr. and Mrs. Samuel R. Wallis in the first
increment of the Isenberg Tract in Lihue, formerly
part of Lihue Plantation. The house was built by
well-known Kauai contractors, the Hironaka
Brothers. Dr. Wallis was instrumental in the
planning and development of the new Wilcox Hospital
facilities completed in 1971, and he was the
primary founder of the Kauai Medical Group. He
married Miss Mary Dorthea Rice, and they had three
children, Carolyn Rice, Samual Rossiter, Jr., and
Mary Margaret.
During his career in
Hawaii, Ossipoff received many awards for his
"kama'aina style" of low-slung homes with strong
roof lines, deep overhangs, and the use of dark
local woods and native stone. Ossipoff not only
worked on Clare Booth Luce's Kahala home, but also
designed the Pacific Club, the Outrigger Canoe
Club, the Thurston Memorial Chapel at Punahou
Schools, the Davies Memorial Chapel at Hawaii
Preparatory Academy on the Big Island, University
of Hawaii's administration building, the IBM
Building and the main check-in and ticket lobbies
at the Honolulu International Airport.
Following the death of Dr.
Wallis, his wife sold the property to Wilcox
Hospital where it was used as temporary housing for
its many doctors and nurses moving to Kauai. From
the 1980's until July 2006, the estate was leased
to the Kauai Hospice Foundation. The estate is
currently for sale, and in the interim, is being
used as a showcase for local artists and a venue
for private events.
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