Building on Fire

Hours

M–Sa: 11 am–6 pm; Su: 12–5 pm

This photo installation profiles the small community of Kalapana, situated on the Big Island of Hawaii. For the past thirty-five years, an ongoing eruption of the nearby Kilauea volcano has devastated this area, transforming it from a once fertile fishing village into an austere expanse of rock. Nevertheless, Kalapana remains inhabited by an eclectic group of residents who accept—or even actively embrace—the constant threat posed by a landscape caught in a cycle of devastation and reinvention.

For this particular installation, Evan Rensch juxtaposes images of Kalapana’s unique geology with its human inhabitation, suggesting that both forms of life may be guided by the same elemental aesthetic.