Abstract
“Fruits of Labor” is a body of visual art which connects colonial structure of Hawaiian agriculture and migration from Asia Pacific. Momohara uses her own family’s 1914 journey from Okinawa to Hawaii pineapple plantations to illustrate nostalgic and respectful attitudes Americans feel toward their immigrant ancestors and the “exotic” islands. The pineapple becomes synonymous for the path her family took from immigrant labors to consumers of luxury goods in today’s United States. Momohara’s artwork blurs the lines between the past and present attitudes toward migration. An antique stereograph holds a digitally made, color image of a golden work glove held high in a fist. She manipulates historical and contemporary mediums such as stereographs and projections to create nuance between the timeline, who labors, their social value, assumptions about products, and exoticism. “Fruits of Labor” can be viewed at https://ehmomohara.com/fruits-of-labor.
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
2025 Special Focus—Oceanic Journeys: Multicultural Approaches in the Humanities
KEYWORDS
Pineapple, Okinawa, Hawaii, Kauai, Plantation
