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Summary

In the Marianas, there are two seasons, Fañomåkan or the dry season and Fanuchånan or the rainy season

In the Marianas, there are two seasons, Fañomåkan or the dry season and Fanuchånan or the rainy season.

In the Marianas, there are two seasons, Fañomåkan or the dry season and Fanuchånan or the rainy season
In the Marianas, there are two seasons, Fañomåkan or the dry season and Fanuchånan or the rainy season.

The Ancient Chamoru calendar has several months during Fanuchånan whose names reflect the weather, such as “Lumåmlam” meaning lighting and “Tenhos” meaning stormy or angry. Two of the ancient months during this period also refer to activities common during Fanuchånan such as “Fangguålo’” or the time to plant and “Sumongsong” meaning the time to stay in the village or stay indoors (and do things such as mend nets).

Sometimes Fanuchånan brings flooding, such as in this image of Hagåtña, Guam flooded in the pre-World War II years.

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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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