When you take a hike, you register your changing surroundings with all your senses, from the feel and smell of the air and the texture of the ground underfoot, to the sounds of birds, voices, wind and water, and the ravishing beauty of things seen near and far.
OPENING
“Surround: Multimedia Works on Paper,” by Jamie R. Allen:
>> Where: Pegge Hopper Gallery, 1164 Nuuanu Ave.
>> When: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday through Nov. 26; closed Sunday and Monday
>> Admission: Free
>> Info: 524-1160, peggehopper.com
Jamie R. Allen conveys all this and more in her sprightly, incandescent Hawaii nature tableaux, which capture the holistic experience of hikes through changing settings rather than any particular view or scene.
Nine partly abstract, partly realistic, mixed-media landscapes based on nine hikes the artist took on Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii island within the past year are on view in her new exhibit, “Surround,” at the Pegge Hopper Gallery through Nov. 26.
The bright, colorful, intensely floral, 15-by-15-inch works are made with watercolor, acrylic, graphite, oil crayons and silk screening on watercolor paper. Allen sewed a trail map onto each picture and marked the coordinates of its latitude and longitude.
“The nice thing about Hawaii is that the hikes can vary greatly, ranging from dry and desertlike to extremely wet rainforest,” said Allen, 33, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design who moved to the islands in 2010.
Asked how she records her hikes, she said, “I usually take a little container and collect things from the ground floor to take back and draw. I do take photos, but I (also) visually absorb the space (with) ‘mental’ photographs so that it becomes more the reaction to the experience, which is translated upon the paper.”
What matters, Allen’s work seems to say, is giving our surroundings our full attention and perhaps more. She will donate a portion of the proceeds from “Surround” to Kahumana Farms, a nonprofit, organic farming community in Waianae which assists the homeless and mentally ill.
On a hike, one passes through not only multiple spaces, but also various physical and emotional states. Layering them in illuminated windows, Allen’s works are in every sense a delight.