Story by Armando T. Dahan
Photos by Armando T. Dahan and Laurie Furumoto
Puna District has lost a prominent resident artist, teacher, and activist. Robin Worley, also known as Rayona Visqueen, who transformed trash into art and fashion. Robin died unexpectedly on September 13.
“She was always creating,” said local artist and friend Abbie Rabinowitz, “finding ways to make art that cared for the earth and made us look again at what we throw away.”
Known for turning “castoff materials into dazzling couture” pieces, Robin “staged runway shows, taught workshops, and collaborated with other trash artists.” Longtime friend, artist, and collaborator, Ira Ono, described their relationship as “very close; we worked together for years.”
They frequently collaborated in the annual Trash Show exhibition, which, according to the show’s program, “challenges artists and activists to create works of art that transform refuse . . . into meaningful pieces that educate the public on the importance of effectively managing our trash.”
The Trash Show: Hawai’i Artists Recycle ran from October 3rd-30th at the Wailoa Center in Hilo. This year, the show celebrated 34 years and included pieces by many artists, including Ono. The entire first floor of the exhibition was dedicated to Robin’s exquisitely-made fashionable pieces made out of materials that included inflatable mattresses, bottle caps, a pop-up canopy cover, and much more.
Her gift for transforming trash into art was a “social statement that speaks to our disposal economy,” says her sister, Laurie Furumoto. But Robin also approached her art with a sense of humor, too. One particular piece, titled “Yuk” Fur Coat made out of rental Santa beards stitched together, drew multiple chuckles from gallery attendees when I visited.
I knew Robin only briefly before I knew her as an artist and activist. We met on a sunny Saturday morning at the Seaview Performing Arts Center for Education (SPACE) in Seaview this past July. We were both there to be a part of the first ever 24-Hour Puna Play Festival, which meant that we would be writing, rehearsing, and presenting a short show in–you guessed it–24 hours.
My impression of Robin on that day was that she was warm and welcoming. She mentioned she could not join for long as she was helping finish painting the floor of SPACE’s performance venue. The visible paint streaks on her clothes and hands added to her allure.
The theme of our show was change and transformation. Needless to say, Robin brought her unique outlook to her piece by choosing ambergris or “whale vomit,” as she put it to us, as her inspiration.
As it turns out, whale vomit is extremely valuable for its use in perfumery. I didn’t know that at the time and remember thinking that Robin’s choice for inspiration was, well, weird. Looking back now, I see how that kind of trash-to-treasure outlook was very much who Robin was.
“I am ambergris,” her piece began.
It was a monologue told from the point of view of the ambergris, a fantastical, humorous adventure of how the ambergris was harvested, distilled, and eventually “ended up on the neck of Jennifer Lopez” as a sweet-smelling fragrance. This is a trash-to-treasure story if ever there was one.
I never saw Robin again after our onetime performance; theatre, after all, is an ephemeral experience. But her impact has been everlasting. And while I can’t remember verbatim what her parting words were to me that night, it was something along the lines of “this island will always provide for you if you let it.”
During my recent visit to this year’s Trash Show, I couldn’t help but admire her trash-to-fashion pieces, especially up close. The fact that she collected the individual items, designed the outfits, adorned them one-by-one, and even wore them herself, made me admire her and her artistry more than before. I walked away feeling inspired by having known her, if only briefly, and by her lifelong mission of advocacy and creation.
The exhibition’s program mentions that Robin’s trash fashions are for sale on a donation basis, with proceeds helping fund SPACE’s artistic and educational programming. A celebration of life, hosted at SPACE, will be held on November 23rd at 2pm open to all.
Do you have a story to share about Robin? Tell us more by sharing yours in the comments below.
Armando T. Dahan
Armando T. Dahan is a writer, creative writing coach, and marketer who helps brands tell their stories online and inspires writers to tell their own. His background spans freelance, nonprofit, and corporate work. In March 2025, he traded California for life on the Big Island.
Strangely missing from this article is any mention of Haute Trash Artists Collaborative, a non-profit organization which Robin was a founding member. Robin was instrumental in writing the documents for our organization, as well as our Mission and Vision statements. This was the very roots of Robin’s foray into trash fashion, back in the mid 1980’s. Robin remained an important member of this organization, until the time of her passing.
Please visit hautetrash.org to learn more about this.
Furthermore, several of the photos in this article were taken by Haute Trash photographer Adrian Schneider.
While your article is well-written and a wonderful tribute to our beloved Robin, I can’t help but feel deeply disappointed by the lack of mention of this important part of her artistic career.
Kathan Griffis
Executive Director
Haute Trash Artists Collaborative
Robin always looked so great wearing her creations. Her style also came from within