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ARTIST TALK with Isa Gagarin, Saturday, July 19, Noon Pacific Time

Isa Gagarin will be giving an artist talk on July 19 . We will beam her into the gallery space at Pilele Projects from her home in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Mni Sota Makoce). She will give a virtual tour of her exhibition and share insight into her creative process. Presented in an informal bilingual format, Gagarin will highlight the way in which learning fino' Chamoru (Chamoru language) has transformed the way she thinks about and creates her work.


ON VIEW

Isa Gagarin
I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena)

June 28 - August 9, 2025 

Gallery hours Friday & Saturday from 11 - 4pm 


Pilele Projects is honored to present Isa Gagarin's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena). Gagarin will present three works that represent i tinituhon, the beginning, of incorporating Chamoru language into her creative practice. Themes of beginning, birth and rebirth can be found in the exhibition’s centerpiece, a large ink-on-paper painting Tataotao i Tano’ (Body of the Land), it is accompanied by an audio and text work I Estorian Tataotao i Tano’ (Story of Body of the Land), and an artist book I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena). Drawing from Gagarin’s experiences of visiting Laso’ Fuha in Guåhan (Guam), studying a kantan Chamorita song and recalling the sounds of luring dukduk crabs out of their shells, the artist invites the audience into a moment when her worldview is transformed through learning her maternal heritage language. 


Pilele Projects has printed 20 copies of Gagarin's artist book, I Hagan Sirena (The Daughter of Sirena), for sale during the exhibition. The book is an experimental score written by Gagarin, in collaboration with Minneapolis-based musician Nona Invie. Written for a performance which took place in June 2025 at Invie’s music residency at the venue Berlin in Minneapolis, I Hagan Sirena tells the story of an imaginary descendent of Sirena, a legendary figure from a Chamoru folktale. The story becomes embedded into Gagarin’s personal narrative, as she shares experiences of reconnecting with her motherland and grandmother tongue. In this hybrid poetry and musical score, storytelling is incorporated with ambient sounds, a kantan Chamorita song and simple instrumentation using hands, shells and sand. Gagarin invites the reader into a dreamlike space where the light, air and waters of Guåhan (Guam) are embodied by sonic textures and spoken Chamoru.


Isa Gagarin is an artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Mni Sota Makoce). Her work draws from experiences of relating to her birthplace of Guam (Guåhan) through visual art, storytelling and Chamoru language revitalisation. Educated in painting and drawing, Gagarin’s artistic practice has expanded to include experimental writing and performance. Gagarin was born in Guam and was raised throughout the US including Hawai’i. Her Chamoru heritage comes from her maternal lineage (Barrigada, Hagåtña), which also includes ancestry from Europe, and she inherits Filipino ancestry from her paternal lineage (Ilocos Norte, Philippines). Gagarin received an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth University (2018), and earned her BFA in Painting from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (2008).



Email hafa@pileleprojects.org