Donʻt Explain
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Object number5842
TitleDonʻt Explain
CreatorCalvin Collins
Descriptionoil, enamel & Swarovski crystals on canvas
Date2015
Material150-mixed media painting
Current locationState Capitol - Office of the Governor
Dimensions
overall: 58.75 x 58.5
Acquired fromBishop Square, Pauahi Tower Lobby, "Eleven," curated exhibition (May 18, 2023 - July 15, 2023)
Credit lineState Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Art in Public Places Collection
Accompanying textArtist and teacher Calvin Collins has lived in Honolulu since 2000, earning an MFA in painting from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2006. His artwork often incorporates bold imagery and grids, combined with unusual media, such as glitter, resin, gun powder, and Swarovski crystals. For the artist the grid gives his compositions a sense of visual order to the elements of chaos and confusion. About his painting Don’t Explain Collins states, “On June 17, 2015, a mass shooting occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, in which 9 African Americans were killed during a Bible Study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The morning after the attack, police arrested a 21-year-old white man who had asked if he could attend the Bible study with them before opening fire shortly thereafter. This painting is a homage to those nine parishioners whose lives were taken by racist gun violence.”