Watch how senior Tilde Oyster plays with kitsch aesthetics to explore tourism not just as an industry, but as a condition.
Tilde Oyster (BFA ’26) grew up in Hawai‘i, but says she often moved through it with a sense of distance. “That experience informs my interest in imitation and the instability between what feels ‘authentic’ and ‘inauthentic,’ questioning how belonging is both constructed and performed,” she says. Her work recreates and distorts imagery that resembles souvenirs, postcards, and representations of her home, which she exaggerates through bright color, repetition, and kitsch aesthetics.
In this spotlight, Oyster shares the surprising similarities between Honolulu and Pittsburgh, her upcoming summer internship as a design intern for The Washington Post, and more.
More from Tilde Oyster | tildeoyster.com | @drinkyourink