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Summary

A view of Humåtak (Umatac) Bay, Guam during the Spanish period of Guam’s history.

A view of Humåtak (Umatac) Bay, Guam during the Spanish period of Guam’s history.

A view of Humåtak (Umatac) Bay, Guam during the Spanish period of Guam’s history.
Humåtak in Southern Guam was an Ancient CHamoru village for thousands of years prior to European colonization. But after first contact with Europeans in the 16th century, it achieved new importance after Spanish colonization and control was established at the end of the 17th century.

For roughly the first half of the Spanish colonial period, Humåtak was used as the primary anchorage for ships visiting Guam. The galleon ships from Acapulco on their way to the Philippines would stop, often in May or June. A supply ship for the Spanish presence in Guam would come via the Philippines to the island usually in August or September.

As such it is featured prominently in early artist renderings of the island and island life.

In the second half of the Spanish colonial period, ships began to port at Apra Harbor instead, leading to the rise of Sumay which eventually became the second largest village on Guam.

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In her first solo show, Julia Birn presents Chewing on Static. She regards this body of work as an exploration of what it means to live in a life that no longer feels entirely familiar. Ms. Birn uses her work as a way to consider what happens when something changes the way one moves through the world, the relationship with oneself, and understanding of the future, as a result of chronic illness. Her paintings emerge from this unresolved experience, giving shape to the feeling of living with something that cannot always be explained or communicated. Through abstraction, fragmentation, and restricted palettes, the works hold onto that tension, allowing forms to shift and remain ambiguous. What emerges is a reflection of what it is like to live with a reality that has become difficult to recognise. The title of the exhibit, Chewing on Static speaks to the mental noise that comes from searching for clarity, questioning one's own experience, and trying to communicate something that refuses to become simple or certain. It is about what happens when one is forced to construct a new understanding of oneself and continue living within something that is unchosen. Through her work, Birn asks the viewer to enter a space where certainty is difficult to find, and to sit with what cannot be resolved. Julia Birn is an accomplished artist, graphic designer, and entrepreneur, who has participated in multiple large and small group shows in Guam since 2022. She has recently earned her BFA in graphic design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Summa Cum Laude. Follow her on Instagram @deafeningsilenceco or contact via email at deafeningsilenceco@gmail.com

Chewing on Static

Chewing on Static https://www.guammuseumfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Chewing-on-Static-INSTAGRAM_4K_H265.mov The next exhibit opening October 24, 2026 at the Guam Museum Cafe Gallery. In her first solo show, Julia Birn presents

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