Draft:Hina Mural ( Halawa View Apartments )

Background

Artist

Kamea Hadar, an artist based in Hawai’i who is particularly well known for his large-scale murals, has painted several in the islands of Hawai’i as well as California, and Taiwan. Hadar has had an affinity for art since he was a child, taking art classes at the Honolulu Art Academy and the University of Hawai’i. He completed his higher education at the University of San Diego, Sorbonne in Paris, University of St. Louis in Madrid, and the University of Tel Aviv, Israel. Hadar labels his work as “Hybridism”, " a hybridization of tradition and modern culture.” He is also co-founder of POW!WOW!, a non profit organization that has built a network of contemporary muralists, and organizes many events including but not limited to education programs, art outreach, and art lectures. Inspired by the Hawaiian culture he was immersed in growing up, much of his art focuses on the culture and history of Hawai’i, but incorporates a modern twist inline with his “hybridism” art style.

Details and Dimensions

Location

The mural, named Hina after the Hawaiian moon goddess, is located on the “makai”, or seaward facing, side of the Halawa View Apartment building. The mural faces the Pearl Harbor and the the USS Arizona Memorial. The mural spans all 14 floors of the tower, and is 150 ft tall, making it the largest portrait in the Hawaiian Islands at its completion. When the mural was painted, the Halawa View Apartments were recently refurbished by the Pacific Development Group and awarded with the LEED Gold certification.

Details

The mural was started on April 10, 2016, and was finished about a month later that same year. It depicts the goddess Hina, standing straight wearing a white dress decorated with stars. Her left hand holding a kalo leaf up to her chest, and her right holding the moon above her head. The two elements are meant to represent the land, sea, and sky, and the goddess Hina's presence in each. “Her proud pose is reminiscent of Roman sculpture, classical paintings of the Renaissance, and even the Statue of Liberty." Her headdress, lei po’o, is made partly from ahinahina (silversord) and hinahina, and contains eight spires, in contrast to the seven spired Statue of Liberty. The headress was designed in collaboration with a friend Kuhao Zane, his father Sig Zane and mother Nalani Kanakaole; kumu hula ( hula teachers) of Hālau O Kekuhi ( hula school). As Hadar emphasizes, the number eight is especially important to the Hawaiian people  “eight is a very special number to the Hawaiians, one of which there’s eight gaps between your fingers and if the village would go fishing together, you would pinch the tails of the fish between your fingers, and if you were offered eight fish, it’s as much as you could carry, so it was considered the full offering.” The spires also represent the eight cardinal directions ( North, South, East, West,NE,SE,NW,SW)The goddess in the mural is modeled after Native Hawaiian model Mahina Florence. Hina’s pose in the mural is very similar to that of the Statue of Liberty, but with distinct differences to act as a symbolic torch specifically for the Hawaiian people, and people entering Hawai'i.

Mural Meaning and Significance

Goddess Hina

The goddess Hina was especially important to the way-finding and voyaging communities within the Hawaiian people. In the Kumulipo,the cosmogonic genealogy of the Hawaiian people, Hina is mentioned as an akua, or god. She is named as the mother of Moloka’i Island, a legendary voyager across the pacific, creator of the human race, and the goddess of kapa/tapa (cloth made from māmaki bark). She is the controller of “ all that is fluid and malleable”, the tides, moon, and all freshwater pools. It was said that Hina guided the sailors across the Pacific with the moon and the stars.

Hōkūleʻa

At the time of the painting, it was soon after the second voyage of the Hōkūleʻa and the first voyage of the Hikianalia set sail.  The Polynesian Voyaging Society, dedicated to the preservation of ancient Hawaiian voyaging techniques, set out on their second voyage in 2014, sailing from O’ahu to Tahiti as part of their 3 year long circumnavigation project. They only use ancient voyaging techniques and equipment, navigation by the moon and stars alone.  Inspired by this voyage, named Malama Honua, Hadar painted the Hina mural as a torch to guide the Hōkūleʻa home back to O’ahu. The tower the mural is painted on looks out toward Pearl Harbor, and the Arizona Memorial, so as Hadar intended, the mural not only guided the Hōkūleʻa voyage home, but continues to guide thousands of sailors everyday.

Malama Honua

Malama Honua , the name of the Hokulea Voyage means to "take care of out Island Earth." In a statement by the Polynesian Voyaging Soceity they take the meaning further saying “it means to take care of and protect everything that makes up our world: land, oceans, living beings, our cultures, and our communities...." In 2016, when the mural was being painted, the Pacific Development Group ( owners of the Halawa Apartment Building ) had just won the LEED Gold certification for their refurbishment of the apartments. LEED-certified spaces use recycled materials, reduce carbon emissions, utilize less water and contribute to a healthier environment for residents. Blending the messages of both the Malama Honua voyage, and the mission of Pacific Development Group, "Hina" was created.

References

1. Wilson, K.L. Nālani. “Nā Wāhine Kanaka Maoli Holowa’a: Native Hawaiian Women Voyagers.” International Journal of Maritime History 20, no. 2 (2008): 307–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/084387140802000215.
2. Liang, Sherry. “How This Hawaiian Artist Paints a 12-Story Mural.” CNN, November 25, 2021. https://www.cnn.com/style/article/kamea-hadar-mural-art-hawaii-building/index.html.
3. “Local Artist Finishes Mural Honoring Hōkūleʻa’s Homecoming.” Khon2news, 2017. https://www.khon2.com/news/local-artist-finishes-mural-honoring-hokuleas-homecoming/901056810/.
4. “Local Artist to Paint 14-Story, Hōkūleʻa-Inspired Mural in Aiea.” Khon2news, 2017. https://www.khon2.com/news/local-artist-to-paint-14-story-Hōkūleʻa-inspired-mural-in-aiea.
5. StreetArtNews. “‘Moon Hina’ by Kamea Hadar in Hawaii.” StreetArtNews, August 2, 2017. https://streetartnews.net/2017/08/moon-hina-by-kamea-haddar-in-hawaii.html.
6. Coen, Jon. “Hawaiian Street Artist Paints Massive Mural to Welcome Home Hōkūleʻa.” Men’s Journal, December 2019, https://www.mensjournal.com/travel/hawaiian-street-artist-paints-massive-mural-welcome-home-hokulea
7. Hadar, Kamea. “Bio.” KameaHadar.Com, 2023, www.kameahadar.com/bio.
8. Hadar, Kamea. "Press Release Document", 2016
9. Jones, Jay. “Oahu’s Pow! Wow! Fest Elevates and Celebrates Street Murals as the Art They Are.” Los Angeles Times, 2019.
10. “About.” Hōkūleʻa, Polynesian Voyaging Society , 10 Oct. 2024, hokulea.com/about/.