Personal Work

This piece, entitled "Hāloa I Ka Lā, Hāloa I Ka Pō" is my interpretation of the genesis story of the Native Hawaiian people. In summary, the Sky Father Wākea and the stars, Hoʻohōkūkalani, came together and had two children. The first was stillborn, and when his parents buried him the first kalo, or taro, plant sprouted. He was named Hāloanakalaukapalili. Then they had a second child, named Hāloa after his elder brother, and he was the first man. This moʻolelo, or story, depicts a brotherly relationship between man and nature -- we tend to the land, and it cares for us. 

In this piece, I wanted to focus on the poetic lineage of Wākea and Hoʻohōkūkalani -- the sky and the stars. The leaves of the plant face our father Wākea in the day, or lā, and its corm is rooted in the darkness, or pō, of the earth. Our moʻolelo share more wisdom than is given credit for, and it is no coincidence to me that nature and man were both born of stardust and energy in this story, just as modern science tells us.

Made with alcohol ink pens and ink markers.

"Backyard" is the coalescence of a childhood spent under looming plants, working farms and rivers, and the deep longing for home after being away for the first time in my life. My father is depicted in the portrait, but it is not a portrait of him -- instead, a bundle of kalo hanging off an ʻauamo, or carrying stick, is the clear focus. Kalo is the starch of the Hawaiian meal, the foundation. I was missing the foundation of my own identity. Just as kalo needs the earth to thrive, I needed my home to truly advance. This painting is the result of not just missing home, but needing it spiritually.

Made with gouache watercolors.