State, city and neighborhood board officials gathered Saturday to celebrate the dedication of a new public art sculpture at Nānākuli Public Library.
The sculpture is titled Mānaiakalani and consists of stainless steel and cast glass. It is in the shape of a fishhook, a replica of the one belonging to Polynesian demigod Māui.
The story of Māui’s fishhook is a reminder of the folklore of when the demigod used it to pull the seafloor above the ocean, creating the Hawaiian Islands.
The two flat sides of the sculpture have golden stars in the constellation of Mānaiakalani, setting into the multi-hued blue waters that represent the Nānākuli coast. The top of the hook has the constellation of Hina ia ‘Ele‘ele, which represents the feminine counterpart to Māui.
Scott Norwood Fitzel is the sculpture's artist. He’s of Hawaiian descent and was raised in Huntington Beach, California. He studied glass blowing at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where he received his BFA.
The sculpture is part of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts’ "Art in Public Places" program, which acquires work to be displayed at over 500 state-funded sites across Hawaiʻi.
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