Kalapana I Ka Wā Kahiko

In Kalapana i ka wā kahiko,  memory and myth twist together; snatched by the ‘Āwili of Kaimū, fused within the forge of its seas. Ancient springs, bathed in shivering water, are blighted by the changing of the earth. The sound of thunder without rain; a vision of yellow foam gurgling out from the mouth of a cave. Materials clash and clamor, rupture and effuse; the chants of Puna spills out from the womb of the earth. Mementos are forged into cliffs; legacies are strewn together, honoring lost pasts; Hōʻeu churns, the ocean its sharkskin drum. The scent of līpoa lingers on the wind; an endless song is carried by the Kalehua; familiar faces dance in its foam; ʻawa trickles down from the mountains.

Nani is a photographer from Waimea, Hawaiʻi. Her work revolves around the documentation of the complexity and nuance of the contemporary Hawaiian experience. Through a combination of analog and digital photography, she recreates the multifaceted and layered histories that she finds herself placed within. By using imagery of the natural landscapes and people who form her surroundings, she expresses a gratitude for what has shaped and influenced her identity.

Nainoa Rosehill is a painter and ethnographer based in Puna, Hawaiʻi. He engages with the volatile knowledge systems of the Pacific to share stories of place based community, nation building, and the interweaving of peoples and histories to build deeper relationships with, and understandings of, land and natural resources. His work uses ritual as a mechanism to merge kanaka, ʻāina, and akua.