In the heartbreaking wake of a community lost to fire, a portfolio of photos from Earth Day 2022 takes on new meaning for Arifin Graham.
Inspiration struck the Oak Bay photographer two years ago, to capture images while visiting one of his favourite places B次元官网网址� Lahaina, Maui.
The first three images came quickly, he said, an unhoused woman sitting by a public washroom; a man showering outdoors; and two heavily tattooed entrepreneurs making a sign for their flea market the next day.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a touristy town right down by the ocean, but apart from that it was a place where people lived and worked. And itB次元官网网址檚 those people who I really wanted to get a sense of their life and the work they do,B次元官网网址� Graham said.
The plan all along was to showcase black and white images in a series titled The Last Resort B次元官网网址� a nod to The Eagles song of the same name.
Then on Aug. 8, 2023, most of the town of Lahaina burned to the ground.
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It put the images in a new light.
B次元官网网址淭he photos are historical documents really of a place which is no longer there,B次元官网网址� Graham said. B次元官网网址淭his portfolio is a simple reminder, reflected in the faces and places of Lahaina and Maui, of what is now at risk in the time of climate change.B次元官网网址�
The theme still fits, lyrics of The Last Resort are frequently interpreted as telling the story of human destruction to beautiful lands touted as paradise. Graham notes a town literally called Paradise in California burned in 2018, Lytton B.C. in 2021 and of course Lahaina last year.
B次元官网网址淭his is where the issue of the environment is really coming home to roost, where we start to lose communities and start to lose people,B次元官网网址� said Graham. B次元官网网址淎nd itB次元官网网址檚 happening all over the world.B次元官网网址�
Now the portfolio is a simple reminder, reflected in the faces and places of Lahaina and Maui, of what is at risk in the time of climate change.
The Last Resort is a tribute and testament to a place and vision of paradise lost B次元官网网址� for now.
B次元官网网址淚t may also contain clues for how Lahaina may rise from the ashes of its deeply historical past through the resilience of its current people and community B次元官网网址� while preparing for the increasingly uncertain future that we all face,B次元官网网址� Graham said.
The Last Resort opens at The Chapel Gallery, 600 Richmond Ave. on Friday (March 8) from 6 to 8 p.m. with an artist talk at 6:30. The show continues through March 17.
