SOS — Mahealily's Portfolio

Title

SOS

Description

SOS is an interactive archival collage book detailing the history of urbanization in Hawai’i using the Save Our Surf’s promotional materials. Founded in the 1960s by John M. Kelly, the Save Our Surf movement was instrumental in protecting Hawai’i’s shorelines and advocating for aloha ‘āina. Re-contextualizing Kelly’s words of protest in the 21st century, the book begs readers to question the widespread narrative that Honolulu has and always will be a concrete jungle and reflect on their experiences in each location.

The collages are organized by the moku (district) of O’ahu they reside in and ordered by their specific ‘ahupua’a (land division). The journey of reading SOS was developed to mimic that of driving around the island and visiting each beach, with space for readers to write reflections before moving to the next place. Aside from this, the physical elements of the book, i.e. paper size, cover, and binding, were designed to reflect O’ahu’s urbanization. The awkwardly large shape mimics that of the awkwardly large buildings erected all along the coast. The metal binder-rings holding the book together creates visual interruption similar to that of the construction sites.

SOS uplifts and reintroduces the powerful words and visual designs activists used to fight for our rights to beach access and cultural green spaces.

Date

May 2025

Duration

5 Months

Media

Publication

Size (mm)

280 x 395