Jon’s advocates vividly detail for six endangered Hawaiian birds – Huge
For some, Hawaii is a place of ecological contradictions. These islands are known for their beautiful beaches and lush forests, but they are also under the greatest threat to bird populations. Hawaii is known as the “world’s extinction capital”, and has witnessed its forest species dropping from 50 to 17 today.
Amidst a series of vivid paintings by Kaneohe-born artist Jon Ching Zeroes, a rare creature has nowhere else on Earth in the grand beauty of six endangered candied Hawaiian fruits. Ching is a 2024 conservation and justice fellow at the American Bird Reservation (ABC), a organization dedicated to supporting wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. ABC, in partnership with birds (rather than mosquitoes), has been struggling to fight non-native mosquitoes on the archipelago, which have destroyed people with avian malaria.
Like most of Ching’s works, the paintings are highly realistic, depicting the soft feathers and zoomed claws of the subjects, with impeccable, otherworldly details. Many are targeted at flat graphic backgrounds that reflect different aspects of Hawaiian culture. The artist wrote on Instagram that “Akeke” had a “special Crossbill that could help them open the ‘ōhi’aLehua Buds for insects” and added the work of the same name:
I have patterned the “ōhi’alehua” and it’s almost contemporary wallpaper or textile design, but as birds perch on it, the flowers and leaves go from 2d to 3d. In this way, their presence gave life to this important native tree, just as it cared about in the wild.
Find more information about Ching on the organization’s website about ABC and the Scholarship Program.
