Hā (Breath)

This piece was commissioned for the Office of Hawaiian Education's 2023 summit that visualizes the theme of the event: Kupu mai ka ‘oiwi (The natives spring forth). This saying reminds us that after the hulihia – an overturning event traditionally associated with a lava flow – the native plants are the first to sprout and provide first life amid turmoil and destruction. When conceptualizing the image, there were a few ideas I wanted to communicate: First was an exchange of HĀ  between the people and the land. I wanted the image to be alive, reflecting the reciprocity between people and ʻāina. The second idea I wanted to convey was that everything our kipuka (patch of reforestation) needs to thrive is already in our kipuka - that is, we can look to ourselves and each other as the source. And third was that the convergence of kipukas is where we truly thrive. It is the interconnection between kipukas that shows our efforts are not just as tokens of hope. Our kipukas can overflow into one another's and reforest a unified Hawai’i that models the wisdom, beauty, and resilience of our people.