By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Everything but the cat, Rat Boy, is for sale at
Roy Venters' "Liquid Nation," dinner theater and
art extravaganza rolled into one.

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In the flow of

‘Liquid Nation’

By Nadine Kam
Star-Bulletin

Here today, gone tomorrow seems to explain the evanescent state of being in Hawaii as youths flee the state in search of green, as homes are subject to foreclosure, as friends move away.

Even art -- something people are accustomed to owning -- has taken on a more ephemeral status as more artists direct their energy toward installations, often, environments created for one moment in time.

So it's timely that Roy Venters' first art installation of 1998 is "Liquid Nation," an exhibition, performance garage sale and dinner theater event that addresses issues of impermanence, materialism, recycling and varying degrees of needfulness.

The exhibition runs Saturday through Feb. 7 at Venters' gallery at 1160 Nuuanu Ave. But Saturday's 7 p.m. dinner of pizza and salad and 7:30 p.m. performance are one-time events.

Dinner is $20, limited to eight people. Spectators on the street are also invited to watch the performance: two dancers from Iona Pear Dance Theatre pushing shopping carts full of clothes down the street.

One dancer will start at the corner of Hotel Street and Nuuanu Avenue, where a security camera set up by the city records activity, legal or not. "So a little bit will be seen by the cops!" Venters gushed.

"This is what's happening here and we shouldn't look away," he said. "There are so many people living out of shopping carts and many people that could be. Everything is liquid these days.

"Even with this gallery, I run it on a shoestring and I have to be flexible and flowing to keep it going."

Eventually, spectators will enter the gallery with the dancers and the real fun will begin with a glorified garage sale of the evening's dinnerware, works by the participating artists, secondhand clothing and gift items. Venters said prices will range from $2 to hundreds of dollars.

"I'm hoping that people will follow the dancers," Venters said. "Nuuanu Avenue is cleaned up but not everybody knows that. We're inviting people to come check it out."

For more information or reservations, page Venters at 273-3983.