With a prolific collection of fantastical illustrations, Lauren Trangmar’s work sweeps across the idyllic Hawaiian islands and beyond. Her personal flair balances concentrated detail with negative space and a distinctly vintage quality acts as a foil to her contemporary subjects. In a series commissioned by Aloha Green Apothecary, Oahu’s first medical cannabis dispensary, she creates a swath of intriguing prints.
Drawing inspiration from the effects of the herb on the body and mind, Trangmar constructs an amalgamation of human and cannabis anatomy in one series—an organic intertwine straight out of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation. In another, Trangmar goes a more strain-specific route. A strain’s distinctive scent, flavor, and effect as a result of different factors—terpene profile, fertilizer, indoor versus outdoor, and sometimes generationsʼ worth of carefully curated cross-breeding— makes for a fertile subject. Trangmar uses these insights, as well as history and mythology, to compose a collage-like representation of popular genetics and breeds. The result is a colorful patchwork study to the casual partaker: candy being beamed up by a UFO, Kryptonite growing from a nug of orange-trichome flower, Diesel fuel dripping onto a pineapple slice. But a seasoned pro (or habitual label-reader) will recognize the stony slanguage.
As a New Zealand native turned Hawaiian resident, Trangmar has had her work featured in exhibitions across the islands. These selected works are part of an ongoing collection on display in several Aloha Green locations, as well as at Pig and the Lady, a popular restaurant in downtown Honolulu. Surprisingly, the laws around recreational use are still a mixed bag in this state, despite majority support from Hawaiian communities in favor of full legalization. But as the first state in the U.S. to legalize medical cannabis through an act of state legislature in 2000—and with so many iconic strains to her name, including the legendary Maui Wowie, Kaua’i Electric, and Kona Gold—Hawaii is certainly no stranger to the plant... as even a certain weed-toking former president can attest.
Be inspired by the bewitching imagination of this talented artist.
Lauren Trangmar is a graphic designer and artist combining traditional processes with contemporary technologies to create her imagery. Prints are available on her website, LaurenTrangmar.com
