Foreign Fruit, an exhibition by Kelly Ciurej

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Kelly Ciurej presents an exhibition of her recent photographs. Foreign Fruit serves as an interpretation of a generic touristic view of paradise, specifically around the symbolic nature of the pineapple. The pineapple represents her transition from Chicago, her place of origin, to her new home in Hawai‘i. Although they are typically mistaken for an indigenous fruit of the islands, pineapples are transplants, transferred to a new place with new roots grown over time.

The pineapple is connotatively sweet, a symbol of welcoming and “aloha,” yet it is simultaneously a hard, jagged entity, with exterior coarse points and rough edges. It promises warmth and comfort, but holds a suggestion of unease and threat, keeping a guard up as protection from its surroundings.

The photographs in "Foreign Fruit" explore the artist’s fragile relationship with her sense of self, place, identity, and the distinction between expectation and reality.

Ciurej is currently pursuing her MFA degree in photography at the Department of Art + Art History, UHM.

Image: Kelly Ciurej, "Foreign Fruit," 2015. Courtesy of the artist.

Ticket Information
Gallery Hours / M-F 10 am – 4 pm; Sun. 12 – 4 pm Closed Sat. Admission to exhibition is free. Parking fees may apply.

Event Sponsor
Art + Art History, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Sharon Tasaka, (808) 956-8364, gallery@hawaii.edu, http://www.hawaii.edu/art/exhibitions+events/exhibitions/?p=1592

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