A calabash bowl is a culturally rich item that was used for food, and was symbolic in rituals or connecting to ancestors. But a new exhibit invites gallery-goers to think of what it means to remember, gather and belong in Hawaiʻi in the present time.
"Calabash" by Manini Collective is an inaugural exhibit featuring several paintings and sculptures by seven artists, with many finishing up their artworks this week.
Johnny Macas-Freire, the curator and director of Manini Collective, said the exhibit's theme was initially inspired by the term "calabash cousins," which refers to people who are family but not blood-related. But the idea changed to have the calabash symbolize “embodied memory.”
“The idea of you deciding what you put inside the calabash,” he said. “You decide what gets put in it and who you share it with. That idea of who we share our memories with and who we share our home with, resonated for many of the artists.”
While Macas-Freire likes to be behind the scenes, his art will be showcased in this coming exhibit. It’s a series of fight paintings based on his time growing up on the west side of Oʻahu.
He’s a teacher in Waiʻanae and said he saw over the decade how the fight culture has shifted. Before, people would fist-fight to end their disagreement and move on from the altercation.
“People aren’t scared to take out a gun during a fight anymore,” he said. “People don’t have that sense of chivalry where if someone takes something random out like a roll of nickels in their hand, everyone’s going to yell at them to take it out of their hand. Doesn’t really happen that much nowadays.”
His art style is inspired by Latin American art, which is sourced from imagery such as ceramics. It’s focused on thick figures and the three-dimensionality of a subject.
Other artists look toward the present and future.
Lauren Hana Chai will feature her painting called “Mom Is Coming ‘Round To Put It Back The Way It Ought To Be.” It’s from lyrics performed by the band, Tool.
In the center is Chai holding her newborn son under a Korean folk tree with peaches growing from the branches. In Korean folk art, artists painted peaches as a symbol of longevity, according to Chai.
“I'm painting the divine feminine, and it's something I've always been exploring in my paintings,” she said.
In the background of the painting, Chai’s grandmother’s face is painted in a Diamond Head-esque mountain with a military helicopter on the mountain, a person is also casually in the front of the mountain, and on the left side of the painting is the construction of buildings covering up nature.
“It's about raising a child in a time where everything is so scary and chaotic and we don't know what the future is going to be,” she said.
Chai and her son are sleeping in the painting within the confines of a rainbow. Her auntie’s eyes are looking over her. It shows another side to the meaning of her art piece.
“I see it as an act of hope,” she said. “I love my child, and I will do anything for him. I want to equip him with the best tools and best strategies with all the love to be able to combat these dark times.”
While most artists in the exhibit are painters, Grace Milk has been exploring sculptures.
Her work spotlights a miniature replica of her grandparents’ living room. It has white walls decorated with a cluster of family photos, a rattan sofa with pastel, tropical flowers, and a nostalgic wooden TV console that used to hold a blocky CRT TV.
She sculptured her piece out of dry clay and painted over it. She also used acrylic to mimic the glass door on the TV console. She also hand-painted miniature paintings of cats and family members to mimic what she remembered in his grandparents’ house.
The sculpture has three walls and no ceiling, which Milk said gives people freedom to look inside.
She hopes her work moves people.
“I want people to definitely see and respond to the personal way that I’m exploring my lineage and, in a way, to also think of theirs,” she said.
The exhibit will be held at Kaiao Space in Chinatown from March 6 to March 15.
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