An Aberrational Poetics: Inside Me an Island (Shaped W/hole) seeks to comment on the effects of centuries of forced colonial practices upon the Chamoru artistic community and explore the means by which modern Chamoru art practitioners glean cultural knowledge in spite of displacement politics that have and continue to divide those communities. Via interactive, somatic poetry experiences, “An Aberrational Poetics: Inside Me an Island (Shaped W/hole)” encourages audience interaction with living plants grown in a space infused with creative energy, with the purpose of transferring that energy to the land in which they will be planted, further reinforcing the ideas of indigenous art practices and their contributions to, not isolation from, the land from which they are inspired and fed.

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8 Somatic Poetry Experiences: Chant, Chew, Clap, Draw, Sing, Smile, Snip, Unburden

Encircling the interior dwelling, eight somatic poetry stations urge viewers to participate with living plants to recall, remember, or envision human interactions with plants.

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Interior Dwelling: A Structure based on “pre-contact” Chamoru dwellings, created with contemporary materials and by contemporary means.