The work of Native Hawaiian interdisciplinary artist Lehuauakea is on display at the Hawai‘i Triennial — the state’s largest thematic art exhibit.
Lehuauakea’s art installation, “Finding My Way Back Home,” features a large-scale, wall-mounted quilt of kapa, indigo, red dyes, ceramic beads, bells, rice bags, and secondhand Japanese cotton and silk fabrics.
Their piece is about 17 feet long and 9 feet tall. They meticulously hand-stitched the textiles together, calling it a “giant, crazy quilt.”
“The piece talks about my family history and our relation to plantation history of immigrant workers and also Native Hawaiian workers working in the sugar cane and pineapple fields here,” Lehuauakea said. “It’s reconciling the ways that we have historically assimilated or fought back against cultural erasure.”
Lehuauakea was born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Pāpaʻikou on Hawaiʻi Island. They learned the labor-intensive work of kapa making from barkcloth maker Wesley Sen, who trained in Pacific barkcloth-making with Pua Van Dorpe, Beatrice Krauss, Malia Solomon, Carla Freitas, Dennis Kana‘e and Mary Pritchard.
Kapa is known to be used for everything from everyday clothing and blankets to ceremonies and paying taxes. The Hawaiian fabric is made from the extracted bark of a paper mulberry tree that’s beaten, soaked, and dried before designs are printed onto it.
The traditional practice was nearly lost after the colonial missionaries brought woven fabrics to Europe. But kapa saw a revival during the 1970s Hawaiian Renaissance, and there is a growing number of kapa makers in Hawai‘i and the diaspora.
Lehuauakea said they want to further the tradition by teaching the next generation about art forms.
They hope their art piece at the Hawai‘i Triennial speaks for itself.
“It’s my hope that through pieces like this, I can offer some visibility, representation, and healing to those who have similar experiences as I do,” Lehuauakea said.
Lehuauakea's current work can be found at Capitol Modern on O‘ahu.
