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Summary

Spondylus shells carved to make beads were a very important form of body adornment during the Latte period of CHamoru history (800 AD - 1700 AD). Spanish priests describe CHamoru women having their own parties specifically for wearing the belts and other jewelry made from spondylus shells. Spondylus is also sometimes found in female burials from the time period, where they were buried with the deceased perhaps as bracelets, belts or other forms of jewelry.

Spondylus shells

Spondylus shells
Spondylus shells carved to make beads were a very important form of body adornment during the Latte period of CHamoru history (800 AD – 1700 AD). Spanish priests describe CHamoru women having their own parties specifically for wearing the belts and other jewelry made from spondylus shells. Spondylus is also sometimes found in female burials from the time period, where they were buried with the deceased perhaps as bracelets, belts or other forms of jewelry.
 
The use of spondylus by our Ancient CHamoru women was no about part of their personal expression of beauty, creativity and fashion, but this and other forms of adornment were also meant to convey the wealth or status of the clan and family.

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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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