O’AHU

We’re big fans of Tasmanian photographer Nick Green.

You may recall his photos of Dion & Taj in West Oz gracing the pages of Volume VII back in May.

Last week saw Nick open his second solo exhibition in Australia at the T. Bexon Gallery, aka Thomas Surfboards Gallery in Noosa, featuring a selection of photos documenting the weird and wonderful in Hawaii.

“This is an ode to my time spent in Hawaii. To the people I met, the places I went and the memories I made. 

In a time of instant gratification, creative anxiety and uncertainty I made this book to remind myself that truth and passion remain.”

I decided to make this body of work one afternoon while sitting on the beach. I sat looking around, the beach littered with bikini models and professional surfers, sun tan lotion glistening as the sun sets behind the infamous Pipeline; the greatest wave in the world. To the right of me, an army of tripods set up on top of each other, aiming and ready to fire. Overhead, the buzzing sounds of a dozen drones almost drowned out the vlog that was being recorded to my left, a surfer I assumed I should have known based on how he was communicating with his virtual fans. I watched teenagers take selfies holding white claws, spending the remainder of the sunset glued to their phone, making sure their facade was successfully rewarded.

I’d never seen this many people on a beach before, yet I felt strangely isolated and alone. As I made my way along the beach back to my accommodation, I noticed a surfer in the distance surfing by himself. I watched for a while as he would continue to catch waves and paddle straight back out, ready for the next one, over and over again. He was alone, but in the most beautiful and pure meaning of the word. No bullshit, nothing more than that moment. It was real.

So I decided I’d spend the rest of my time on the island trying to find those situations, moments of truth, moments of beauty and moments of reality; because that’s where I felt I wanted to be. This body of work is a collection of images shot during my time trying to find those moments. 

Poem from ‘OAHU’ 

From where it all started

Many moons ago

A form of expression

Replaced with ego 

A land of such beauty

Shared amongst many

Chasing pipe dreams 

Some, if any. 

Culture corrupted 

Through fortune and fame

Constructed perceptions

Are not the same 

Glimpses of truth

Remain but few; 

These are the moments

I share with you. 

O’AHU runs at the T. Bexon Gallery until December 5th 2020.