Tamara Brink's Vesseled exhibition brought color and wisdom to Polu Gallery Hale'iwa!
Mahalo Nui loa to everyone, friends, ohana, art enthusiasts, and neighbors who showed up for Tamara Brinks’ first exhibition in Polu Gallery Hale’iwa!
Tamara’s vessels represent the human body; with these pieces, she wishes to stop us for a moment and think about what we keep inside us. She leads us to understand the human nature of keeping things in us.
Tamara’s vessels call us for empathy and a nonjudgmental approach to our relationships. Her paintings are leading us to wonder about human nature and psychology! Knowing the looks are only a shell and many stories inside the vessels!
You can enjoy these beautiful and thoughtful 22 pieces of the exhibition "VESSELED" in Polu Gallery Hale’iwa till 10/21!
You may fin Tamara’s essay about her first exhibition “Vesseled” below:
We wouldn't really think we have much in common with vessels--but at closer examination vessels reveal themselves as a telling metaphor.
We all have a version of ourselves we present to others. How we craft that version is often dependent on the time we have available, the resources at our disposal, the love we have for ourselves, and most importantly, how much we care about what we present to others.
Some people craft extravagant, loud outer shells that command the attention of a room. Wallflowers tend to craft something more simple and quiet, but still appreciated by those who take the time to observe the details of the room. There are those who try to present strength, those who try too hard to not be like anyone else, those who try too hard to be like everyone else, and those who are scared of not being accepted so just try to create something that pushes people away on their own terms. There are a multitude of different shells crafted and created with an audience in mind.
And yet some are so busy taking care of others or the demands of their world, that their outer shell probably isn't what they had hoped to present, but it tells a story about them just the same. Probably a more honest story than a well crafted shell.
Just like people, vessels may tell a different story on the inside. Some sit empty and hollow. No purpose other than to look pretty. Some may just be a catch all, full of things tossed inside and forgotten. Those things may not be thought of often but the vessel still holds them deep within. Some vessels are filled with ashes. They sit pretty on the outside, but inside they hold a lot of loss and grief. Maybe the loss of someone, maybe the loss of something. But we too, can be filled with the ashes of something we grieve for and miss. And vessels some have the privilege of holding beautiful bouquets. Seeing a vessel filled with flowers is like seeing a person whose joy radiates out of them--it doesn't matter what the outside of the vessel looks like because what's inside of them outshines it anyway.
The most interesting thing about these vessels--or these people--is the correlation between what's on the outside and what's on the inside. Do they contradict each other? Are they telling two different stories? Is the outside a mask to hide something dark inside? Is the inside a pleasant surprise that seems to be misrepresented by the outside? Or is there a truth woven between the two that makes it feel more genuine?
No matter what is on the inside, it is always held by the outside. And in this way, we are Vesseled."
