Weston Teruya

The Language of Seeds and Tents

Gaye Chan and Michael Arcega’s makeshift architecture and critical dialogues of public space.

It began with papaya seedlings covertly planted on a narrow strip of grass between a roadway and a chain-link fence.

Gaye Chan and her partner, Nandita Sharma, deliberately placed the plants on public land without permission or regret. For a few months in late 2003, the young plants flourished there in the shadow of green, creased cliffs on the windward side of Oahu, HI. A small hand-painted placard declared them for public benefit and use.

Online Exclusive: Free Sharing with artist Gaye Chan

Whether working through photography, the vegetables from her garden, political pamphlets or wire bins, Chan's art persistently examines the politics of exchange and human interactions.

In her longstanding artistic practice, Hawai’i-based artist Gaye Chan has created work across a spectrum of mediums and venues. Whether working through photography, the vegetables from her garden, political pamphlets or wire bins, her art persistently examines the politics of exchange and human interactions.