This project preserves the charm and character of old Honolulu as it unceremoniously disappears. Images of storefronts, electric signs and decaying architecture create a framework for this time capsule. Locals and visitors populate it. This collection of photographs suggests the vital interaction between the diverse people of this city and the places they work, live and play.

First Hawaiian Center SAVE THE DATE SHARE Exhibition Overview Hawai‘i: Our World, Our Place
Photographs by Paul Chesley, Eric Yanagi, and James Cave, Elisa Chang, and Ivan Wentland

The Honolulu Museum of Art puts the spotlight on photography in a trio of exhibitions at First Hawaiian Center.

Paul Chesley
Based in Honolulu, Paul Chesley has created images for the National Geographic Society since 1975. An independent artist, he has accepted commissions from many organizations, but his more than 35 photographic essays commissioned by National Geographic has helped some of his photographs to achieve iconic status. The exhibition is framed by two of his works from Hawai‘i, one of sheer tropical mountain cliffs and the other a glowing neon sign in urban Honolulu. The other photographs depict the many places that the artist has worked throughout the world, from Japan to Iceland.

Eric Yanagi
In 1973, 22-year-old photographer Eric Yanagi set out to document the changing topographical landscape of Waikïkï at a time when tourism was booming, and highrise developments were swallowing up the last remaining mom-and-pop stores and single-family dwellings. From May to December, with a state grant in hand, Yanagi shot hundreds of rolls of black-and-white film, capturing the neighborhood’s places and people. Forty years later, Yanagi’s photographs reveal how much we have changed—and remained the same.

James Cave, Elisa Chang, and Ivan Wentland
See the spontaneity of the age of the smart phone in these artists’ works. James Cave captures unwitting subjects without their knowledge, producing images that are captivating and mysterious. Elisa Chang’s shots of people she sees and encounters around her are a look into the lives of others. In 2010, Ivan Wentland photographed an image a day. His works become micro-environments. Whether the images are insights to an organic or manufactured world, his photos are saturated with color and intrigue.

Exhibitions and programs at First Hawaiian Center are sponsored by First Hawaiian Bank.