Lani Asunción “Duty Free Paradise”
Duty-Free Paradise (DFP) (2020-23) plays on the tensions between lived and imagined Hawai’i. Through the lens of tourism, around which the Islands’ economy heavily circulates, this work explores the contradictions between perceptions and realities of island life as a paradise constructed through American pop culture, underwritten by militarism and biopolitics.
Asunción is creating connections between Hawai’i and Boston's past and current American histories and examining how these narratives are being told and communicated by reframing them through the digital media tools of video, augmented reality, installation, and public performances. Exploring how media can create an idealized perspective and turns the gaze on the viewer, the work provides a critical perspective of paradise as an idealized concept in relation to imperialism.
As a Filipinx-American who grew up in Hawai’i, now living in Boston, Asunción offers an exposition of Boston’s complicated history with Hawai’i. Through honoring Kānaka Maoli culture and uplifting the Filipinx diaspora, they embody characters that critique colonialism and imperialism with a compelling sense of ritualistic care.
Duty-Free Paradise is a project initiated in 2020, but that began to develop in 2011 during their graduate studies at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Connecticut, where the foundation and development of this work was witnessed by artist and curator J.R. Uretsky who has a deep personal understanding and relationship both to the artist and Hawai’i histories.
On View from January 20th thru April 13th, 2024
Opening Reception January 26th, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Lani Asunción: Duty-Free Paradise, curated by J.R. Uretsky
Links and social media:
https://bostonarts.org/event/lani-asuncion-duty-free-paradise/
https://bostonarts.org/experiences/exhibitions/lani-asuncion-duty-free-paradise/
BCA social media: @bostoncenterforarts
Artist website: https://laniasuncion.com
Artist social media: @lani.asuncion
Curator social media: @jr_worshipband
