Jane MiSept. 28, 2018 — Legend has it that the ancient Chumash crossed over to the mainland from the Channel Islands on a rainbow bridge. The islanders who made it across populated the mainland and those who fell from the bridge became dolphins, which is why the Chumash and the dolphins have always been brethren.

This legend is at the core of “Wishtoyo,” by artist/ocean engineer Jane Chang Mi, one of four exhibits making up CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)’s October Art Show, which opens Oct. 3 and runs through Oct. 24 at Napa Hall on the CSUCI campus.

The reception for the show is Oct. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Napa Hall with a special presentation held in conjunction with Mi’s exhibit called “LASER (Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous) Talk. The LASER talk will be from 3 to 5 p.m. at Napa Hall, prior to the reception.

Mi’s exhibit explores the relationship between contemporary society, the land, the sea and the ancestors who first inhabited this area, the Chumash people. She uses paintings, video, photographs and other media to give guests a unique look at this relationship through her lens as an ocean engineer and an artist.

Mi is based out of her native Los Angeles and Honolulu, HI, where she is an artist in residence at the Pacific National Monument at Pearl Harbor. She also teaches at Pepperdine University in Malibu and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“As we move to a techno-driven future, where the ocean is filled with plastic and we live by the light of the neon screen, I seek to highlight the importance of indigenous cultures that accommodate our relationship to the non-human,” Mi said. “Including ways of knowing and speaking that acknowledge our kinship to animals, plants, wind, rocks, mountains and waters.”

The theme to the LASER symposium, “Place, Land and Sea,” will expand the theme of Mi’s exhibit with CSUCI’s Director of Facility Services Raudel Banuelos opening the talk with a Chumash blessing ceremony.

Speakers will include experts on Chumash culture and traditional healing, as well as representatives from various research institutes dedicated to educating the public about connecting with and respecting the environment.

Appearing on the Napa Hall Grad Wall will be “Sacred Nature” by Brittany Lambert, who creates her own materials from plant-based sources. The graduating senior uses her organic art methods to explore “sacred geometry,” which seeks to draw a parallel between the imperfections of life and the beauties of the natural world.

Additionally, “Turning Kelp on its Head,” will also be displayed as part of a series by alumnus Emma Akmakdjian called “Boundaries.”

Akmakdjian described her work as kelp blades “on their heads,” defying gravity as roots spread out skyward in an attempt to get us to re-evaluate our relationship with our precious water resources. She uses mixed media including oil paint, marine debris, ceramics and nylon fishing rope.

The fourth exhibit is “Santa Rosa Island,” a display of student sculpture and ceramics based on  research of the islands with Professor of Art Matt Furmanski and Assistant Professor of Art Marianne McGrath.

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