Hailey Malaika Olympia Clarke

    Hailey Malaika Olympia Clarke (HMOC) is a multimedia visual and performance artist. She grew up in rural Trabuco Canyon, California. In 2008 she received a BA in Fine Arts with a Focus in Painting from UCSC. She lives in San Francisco where she creates paintings, directs independent films, makes sculptures with upcycled materials & writes comedy.

    Her connection to nature was forged at a young age. When a live oak forest was threatened by development in their hometown, her family wrote and performed a protest song to preserve the trees. Various creative efforts combined with concerted pressure from the community helped protect the forest which remains standing to this day. This early success was a catalyst which continues to inspire her work on and off of the canvas. 

    In her young adulthood, HMOC had a life altering trip to Thailand. Amid a tour of painting murals and studying temple art, she was in a car wreck. Ejected from the vehicle, her body was caught on the edge of a precipice by a tree, her right humerus shattered. She finished her time in Southeast Asia completing murals with her left (untrained) hand while her other was in a sling. She began tapping into the healing potential of her body with creativity and visualization.

      HMOC began working in the zero waste industry shortly after moving to San Francisco in 2008. Her eyes were opened to the mountains of waste that end up in landfills. She longed to inspire change concerning what she calls society’s ‘trash shadow'. In 2011 while diving for litter in the Feather River, she envisaged Dirty Trashy Mamas, a conceptual arts troupe whom crafted impromptu sculptures and performance art pieces out of found festival garbage. The response was tremendous. The experience reaffirmed to her that comedy, dance and visual art were successful modes of communication, especially for subjects that were difficult to discuss. It was possible to encourage sustainable actions within herself and her audience through creativity. 

    A favorite medium of HMOC's is filmmaking. Her comedic short films have premiered at Bernal Heights Film Festival, Festival of the Moving Image and City Shorts Film Festival.  She has worked as a PA for Last Black Man in San Francisco, Bloody Maria Series and makeup artist for Shameless Photography. She enjoys screenwriting and filming music videos in her free time.

    HMOC has volunteered as an arts educator for several non-profits including Micah's Way, Common Vision and Gallery Route One’s 'Artists in Schools' program. She enjoys supporting people of all ages in the pursuit of unrestricted expression as a creative consultant.

     She hopes you enjoy a glimpse into her studios.