Trysen Kaneshige (known as “TK” to his friends & ohana), is a Kauaʻi-born graphic designer, multi-media artist, and muralist. This April, Trysen joined the ARC team as part of the County of Kauaʻi’s 2021 Rise to Work program.
For the last two months, Kaneshige has been creating street art portraying the vibrancy and imperilment of Kauaʻi’s native birds. His series of spray-paint and acrylic panels capture endemic species like the ʻalae ke’oke’o (Hawaiian coot), and the `alae `ula (Hawaiian gallinule) in their wetland habitat.
Trysen has also painted panels to illustrate how keeping cats indoors can protect both cats and wildlife. Feral cats threaten Kaua’i’s native birds with extinction, and Trysen’s work helps share the “cat safe, wildlife safe” message to encourage responsible cat ownership.
To date, Trysen has also produced logos, stickers, and t-shirts for the ARC team, and used his artistic talent to communicate our seabird tracking research in a visual and highly compelling form. His seabird panel shows a’o (Newell’s shearwater) equipped with geo-locater tracking devices, returning to the mountains of Kauaʻi to breed.
To see a gallery of Trysen’s work as an ARC Rise to Work employee please click here.
To contact Trysen and for business inqueries please visit his website: https://tkaytwodesign.com/
We’re so happy you joined ARC. Mahalo, Trysen!
All photographs: © Trysen Kaneshige, 2021
Archipelago Research and Conservation 