ABOUT

Who is “Semak”?

Semak was no different than all the others who lived through the horrors of the Maui fire of 2023.  Many lost their lives, and many more lost their homes, their livelihoods, their cherished Lahaina Town, and most importantly, their realized dream of a Maui lifestyle—a lifestyle that was in open opposition to“mainland” existence.

What could not be lost, though, was his lifetime of memories that preceded the all-consuming fire of August 8.  One memory in particular that haunted Semak was his walk through the ghost-filled streets of Pompeii just a few months earlier.  He recalled thinking about all the lives two millennia earlier, just ordinary everyday lives filled with hopes and dreams, which were erased in an instant.  As he contemplated long-dead Pompeii, he kept reminding himself that he lived below Haleakala, just as the people of Pompeii lived beneath Mt. Vesuvius.  Would Haleakala reawaken under Lono’s command, or would Maui break apart and swallow its refugees from the mainland?

With some measure of guilt, Semak took refuge for a time in his memories of his many travels throughout life and the years of struggle and bold creativity in San Francisco trying to gain traction as a musician and author.  He remembered how in 2013 he took the unprecedented leap into uncertainty by leaving everything behind and moving to Maui to experience a rebirth of sorts.

Maui did not disappoint.  New opportunities opened before him and he savored them all.  While island fever showed itself from time to time, Semak was again excited about life’s new direction, until, of course, the great fire destroyed all in its path, as Mt. Vesuvius had done so many years before.

Semak’s revisiting of his memories, the memories that the fire could not erase, taught him that once something has become a memory, new memories must always be cultivated.  It is hoped that Semak’s photography and essays prompt readers to vigorously cultivate their own memories, memories that someday may be called upon to heal a broken heart of devastating loss.  

Davis Slezak

It’s A Madhouse Productions

6830 Hollywood Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90028