Pele and Plastiglomerate | Bioplastic Skins

Pele and Plastiglomerate considers the mediation of Hawai’i Island via technological monitoring, plastiglomerate, a new geological layer discovered in Kamilo Beach in 2012, as well as bioplastics as alternative biodegradable materials to petrochemical plastics. Plastiglomerate was formed by commercial plastics washed ashore from the ocean melted with sand and rock to form a new conglomerate.

Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiians) see Pelehonuamea, a volcanic deity and goddess, as their living elemental progenitor. She is associated with the volcano Kilauea and as a living entity in Halema’uma’u crater, including the land and lava rocks that extend from Kilauea’s reach. As researchers and geologists have only focused on plastiglomerate as being a marker of the Anthropocene, they have never considered the spiritual connections it has to Hawai'i and it's native peoples. Plastiglomerate can be seen from a perspective of the invasion of the melding of toxic/colonial and petrochemical substances with Pele’s sacred and spiritual body, and as a metaphor for the loss of native spiritual beliefs with the continuous arrival of settler-colonialists, and their new materials and technologies. Bioplastics can be considered as a new material technology and ritual practice, offering alternatives to the petrochemically derived plastics and their relationship to colonialism.

Prior to western contact, offerings, chants, prayers, and a deep reverence for Pele were needed to approach the crater. As an extension of techno-colonialism of Hawai’i Island, drones and satellite monitoring through LIDAR and InSAR technology, positioned above the crater, actively shoot lasers on the land to detect surface deformations at Kilauea’s summit. This technological monitoring can be seen as a continual invasion of the island, and the Kanaka Maoli’s spiritual realm. As this technology attempts to predict Pele's movements, as a force of nature, she can never be fully predicted. Chants honoring Pelehonuamea are combined with LIDAR and aerial drone footage, juxtaposing these two belief systems.

Pele and Plastiglomerate meditates on the materiality of lava, the spirituality embedded within, and potentialities for new material rituals. It considers biodegradable bioplastics wrapped around rocks and on the body as new skins - as both offerings and protection, and sites of healing. It repositions satellite data next to lava flows to re-envision spiritual practices and healing in these continuously transformed landscapes of the island.

Concept, Video Editing, 3D Scans+Models: Tiare Ribeaux
Chants/Songs: Pualani Kanakaole Kanahele, Aia La O Pele (Halau Hula ka No’eau), Hi’iaka i ka Poli o Pele
Music Score/Composition: Andrej Hronco
Archival Footage: USGS
3D Thermal Models: USGS
Lidar Data: CRREL/NCALM /USGS