Namiyo at Hanauma Bay

寺岡政美作　ハナウマ湾の波様

Teraoka is a naturalized American pop artist who was born in Japan and lives in Hawaii. His paintings and prints are colored with a gentle social criticism that underscores the absurdities and pitfalls of contemporary life. In particular, he observes and depicts, in a satirical way, Japanese tourists flocking in the streets and beaches of Hawaii.

In this print, a Japanese woman tourist is snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, a famed fish preserve in Oahu, Hawaii. She has just emerged from the water. With her long loose hair and her decorative comb that is barely attached to it, she looks like a courtesan or geisha in traditional Japanese woodblock prints, but she is definitely a modern Japanese woman. She pauses for a moment with her goggles and snorkel in her hands.

Teraoka's works are deeply influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, especially those of Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1864). He effectively uses the dissonance between the classical style and his contemporary commentary.

Inscriptions
Right side: The sound of the waves is white
Left side: Derivation of the Wave Series: Snorkeling Scene at Hanauma Bay in Hawaii