Abigail Romanchak

Maui Arts & Cultural Center
Exhibition: Art & Activism: An Exhibition About Change

Kāhea - “a call”
Collagraph print, 5 feet x 23 feet

In 1987, the last remaining male O'o bird on Kaua'i called to his mate. His song went unanswered, and now his call is gone too. The symphony of Hawai'i's birds is disappearing, and this mele of our land is dying. To date, seventy-two percent of Hawai'i's endemic land birds have gone extinct.

Kāhea, is a call to see the bird songs of the 'Akohekohe and Kiwikiu, two of Maui's most endangered bird species. Using endemic and native Hawaiian bird spectrograms- three-dimensional visualizations of sounds measuring time, frequency and pitch- I've created large-sclae collagraph prints that emphasize the avian world we are losing.

If we continue on our present course, my grandchildren, and all of our grandchildren, will only know islands devoid of these beautiful bird songs. As temperatures rise with global warming, and native forest bird refuges become uninhabitable, within our lifetime most Hawaiian Honeycreepers such as the 'I'iwi, Kiwikiu and 'Akohekohe are expected to go extinct.

Kani Le'a - “a distinct sound”
Collagraph print, 5 x 7 feet

White and grey spectrograms map the unique calls of each of the remaining endangered and extant Hawaiian forest birds. The bare, black space represents the silence of endemic Hawaiian birds now extinct. The subtle gradation from light to dark tracks the staggering loss of birds in our remote Pacific islands. The Kani Le'a of remaining Hawaiian birds offers both hope and memory.

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Kāhea - “a call” (4-panel detail)
Collagraph print, each panel size 16" x 56"

In 1987, the last remaining male O'o bird on Kaua'i called to his mate. His song went unanswered, and now his call is gone too. The symphony of Hawai'i's birds is disappearing, and this mele of our land is dying. To date, seventy-two percent of Hawai'i's endemic land birds have gone extinct.

Kāhea, is a call to see the bird songs of the 'Akohekohe and Kiwikiu, two of Maui's most endangered bird species. Using endemic and native Hawaiian bird spectrograms- three-dimensional visualizations of sounds measuring time, frequency and pitch- I've created large-sclae collagraph prints that emphasize the avian world we are losing.

If we continue on our present course, my grandchildren, and all of our grandchildren, will only know islands devoid of these beautiful bird songs. As temperatures rise with global warming, and native forest bird refuges become uninhabitable, within our lifetime most Hawaiian Honeycreepers such as the 'I'iwi, Kiwikiu and 'Akohekohe are expected to go extinct.

Watch Videos >

Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu
Exhibition: Ground (2017)

Hawaii printmakers, Abigail Romanchak and Charles Cohan created a body of work on the notion of the continuous breathing of a volcano. Romanchak’s prints are influenced by the sustained release of seismic energy typically associated with the underground movement of magma, while Cohan’s prints reference a graphic reverb of the movement of ground. Together, they hope their collaboration inclines towards a conclusion of the unceasing chanting of land.

Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu
Exhibition: Ground (2017)

Hawaii printmakers, Abigail Romanchak and Charles Cohan created a body of work on the notion of the continuous breathing of a volcano. Romanchak’s prints are influenced by the sustained release of seismic energy typically associated with the underground movement of magma, while Cohan’s prints reference a graphic reverb of the movement of ground. Together, they hope their collaboration inclines towards a conclusion of the unceasing chanting of land.

Ke Ano (2023)
collagraph, monoprint
installation size 25" x 17'

"Ke Ano" is a new body of work honoring the silence of Haleakala crater. This installation of layered woodcuts is inspired by spectrograms of silence specific to Haleakala crater, documented by Gordon Hempton, acoustic ecologist. Hempton believes, "Silence is an endangered species on the verge of extinction and by listening to natural silence, we feel connected to the land, to our evolutionary past and to ourselves." Abigail is aware of the rapidly changing landscape of her birthplace. For her, Haleakala crater is one of the last remaining places on Maui devoid of human noise, Through the tactile transfer of audio to the visual, Abigail hopes these printed impressions will inspire contemplative inner silence too. 

*printed in collaboration with Charles Cohan

Ke Ano (2023)
collagraph, monoprint
detail from 25" x 17' installation

"Ke Ano" is a new body of work honoring the silence of Haleakala crater. This installation of layered woodcuts is inspired by spectrograms of silence specific to Haleakala crater, documented by Gordon Hempton, acoustic ecologist. Hempton believes, "Silence is an endangered species on the verge of extinction and by listening to natural silence, we feel connected to the land, to our evolutionary past and to ourselves." Abigail is aware of the rapidly changing landscape of her birthplace. For her, Haleakala crater is one of the last remaining places on Maui devoid of human noise, Through the tactile transfer of audio to the visual, Abigail hopes these printed impressions will inspire contemplative inner silence too. 

*printed in collaboration with Charles Cohan

The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu
Exhibition: Biennial IX (2010)

“For her biennial installation Tracked, Romanchak has pursued a carefully charted path of inspired response to an initial idea informed in part by the knowledge of GIS maps gained in preparation for Mahele, amplified by subsequent research and inquiry, and the investigation of print media to find the best vehicle to give visual and physical form to her emerging concept. As she describes this process, it began with a recent visit to a friend on Maui, Kerri Fay, who is a field manager for the Maui Nature Conservancy and is working toward a degree as a GIS (geographic information system) technician. In 2009, Fay provided GPS devices to a number of conservationists and tracking dogs that then moved for a year around and through a key watershed area, Waikamoi, in east Maui. The output from the devices generated a number of linear maps that provided a critical point of departure for Romanchak. Understanding the nature of these marks as both very literal in one context, and very abstract in another, she selected 1-inch by 1-inch sections of those maps and scaled them up to 3-foot square images. As she developed her ideas, the concept of a 21st century perspective of landscape mediated by technology emerged as the core of her project. In this case, taking what might be overlooked or was less- noticed—what would not exist, in fact, without the aid of technology (i.e. the GPS tracking)—allowed her to bring the project full circle, from land to tracks made visible with technology to marks rendered laboriously by hand.” - Marcia Morse

Equanimity I (left), Equanimity II (right)
each print 36" x 36", Pyrography on Sekishu

Native cultures are jeopardized once they stop speaking to people in present day. The expressive freedom of printmaking allows me to communicate my deep personal feelings about rapidly changing cultural and natural landscapes, and enables me to assert Hawaiian practices through art.

He Hō’ike no ke Ola is an up-close look at the interconnected structure of diatoms to consider the relationship between micro and macro scenarios. Marine food chains collapse when diatoms, microscopic indicators of health and wellbeing in ocean ecosystems, are unable to thrive. This causes irreparable damage to reefs and other habitats upon which land and water systems rely, making islands vulnerable, and in some cases, uninhabitable. The complex networks of the requisite diatom give reason to ponder far-reaching ramifications of unsustainable practices.

These microscopic maps of wellness or destruction in our Hawaiian ocean waters have many parallels to the lives of native Hawaiians. Before colonization, native Hawaiians lived intertwined in a vibrant relationship with our shores, reefs, and ocean. Though many Hawaiians have resurrected traditional practices or evolved to remain connected to our culture and the land, as a people we are not thriving as we once were. The death rate among native Hawaiians increased rapidly after their first contact with Western foreigners. Estimates show that 1 in 17 native Hawaiians died within two years of western contact in Hawai’i and by 1840 the native Hawaiian population declined by 84%. Thus, the disintegrating, yet deeply connected diatoms also represent the struggle for Hawaiians to maintain and protect the land and oceans that are essential to our culture.

He Hō’ike no ke Ola is dedicated to my father-in-law, Dr. Paul Jokiel, for his lifetime of research on climate change and marine thermal tolerance.

Identity: The fact of being who or what a person or thing is.

This mixed media piece honors the Hawaiian moon phase Hua- when the moon is waxing and nearly full. Under the Hua moon, this night is considered sacred to the Hawaiian god of agriculture and as such is good luck for planting, fishing and healing.

Naepuni was inspired by the inside netting of a traditional Hawaiian feather cape. In creating this mixed media piece, I envision myself as a contemporary artist in dialogue with ancient predecessors from a twenty-first century standpoint. I have come to associate the labor intensive intricate olona netting of a Hawaiian feather cape with the highly advanced craftsmanship and unique identity of Hawaiian artisans.