Sean Connelly

In Hawaiian, the native word “au” combines notions of space, time, and flow into a single term suggesting the existence of an ecologically fluid worldview. Challenging the supremacy of Western science as well as the entrenched perceptions of the Pacific Islands and their people as fatefully remote and “scattered,” Sean Connelly has embarked on a long-term project titled Hydraulic Islands, comprising a multi-part anthology and a new-media atlas, that revolves around the pivotal role Hawa’i plays in the history and future of human settlements across Oceania and beyond. During the residency, the artist will work on the graphic atlas which results from a combination of geographic information system (GIS) technologies, counter-mapping techniques, and extensive fieldwork across Hawai’i. By delving deep into aboriginal ecologies, planetary systems, and network economies, he aims to recover indigenous knowledge and practices that can advance more sustainable oceanic systems of urbanism, energy, economy, and time as they relate to cities and natural resources.