About the Artist: Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu

Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu ('o ia/she/her) is a transdisciplinary Kanaka 'Ōiwi scholar, curator, and artist presently residing in Kirikiriroa, Aotearoa/New Zealand. She is a global citizen with Indigenous, Moana genealogies to Moloka'i Nui a Hina and Kanaka'aukai from Kalapana, Hawai'i. An alumna of the University of Hawai'i–Mānoa's Center for Pacific Islands Studies and a senior research fellow at Ngā Wai a Te Tūī, Māori and Indigenous Research Center, she received a Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi Marsden Fast-Start grant (2021–2024) focusing on retracing the story lines of Pacific women voyagers and navigators, with special interest in Hina, Hine, Sina, Sima, and Nim'anoa.

Photo courtesy of the artist

Her work has been exhibited in Ka Hikina: Navigating the Present (Arts-Post Gallery, June–July 2019); Kotahitanga, United Through Creativity (Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, September 2021–February 2022); and E Hina e! E Hine e! Mana Waahine Maaori/Maoli of Past, Present and Future (Te Whare Taonga o Waikato, Waikato Museum, September 2019–November 2021), which she cocurated with Aroha Yates-Smith and Maree Mills (for a review of this exhibition, see Taito, this issue).

In her watercolor paintings, Wilson-Hokowhitu depicts images of ocean and sky, voyaging, 'ōlelo no'eau, and ancestral stories from Moananuiākea, Oceania. Her artistic practice and scholarship engage mo'okū'auhau, or genealogical connections to the natural world, and raise global awareness about mana wāhine and Indigenous and Pacific feminisms, epistemologies, and ontologies that inform critical, innovative, and transformative futurities. Her work adds to the growing body of knowledge expressed by Kanaka 'Ōiwi, Moana, and Indigenous peoples working at the interface of social justice and environmental protection of our islands, earth, waterways, and oceans. She notes that "in particular, the poetry, critical theory, and activism of the late Haunani-Kay Trask and Teresia Teaiwa have served as a star line to follow, igniting a ferocity and tenderness that have guided the intellectual and artistic journey."

The art featured in this issue can be viewed in full color in the online versions.

Hālāwai, by Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu, 2021.

Watercolor on paper, 50 × 60 cm.

Inspired by the 'ōlelo no'eau, or Hawaiian proverb, "Mai ka ho'okui i ka hālāwai" (From the zenith to the horizon) ('Ōlelo No'eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings, by Mary Kawena Pukui [Bishop Museum Press, 1983], 224), the abstract imagery of the Hālāwai series depicts life beneath the sea, atmospheric changes, and potentiality to the zenith. What exists beyond the realm of planet Earth? The Hālāwai series synergizes an alien and otherworldly beauty of nebulous imagery and life under the sea, and it instigates thought and consideration about environmental and space ethics. While humans are investigating the possibility of residing on the moon and Mars, solutions are urgently needed to address climate change and environmental issues affecting our home planet, especially its islands and oceans. What will the future bring?

Hina, by Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu, 2019.

Watercolor on paper, 21 × 29.7 cm.

This watercolor painting explores the fluid embodiment and strength of Hina, who pulls the ocean tides and the waters within our human bodies. Hina is an expression of the hālāwai and, as part of the Hālāwai series, celebrates Moana potentialities.

Ka Pō Ho'iho'i, by Nālani Wilson-Hokowhitu, 2020.

Watercolor on paper, 29.7 × 42 cm.

Ka Pō Ho'iho'i implores the viewer to look up and return to the abundance of creation in a celebration of our shared Kanaka Maoli and Moana genealogical ties to Pō, a bountiful source and force. Born from stars, humans are composed of the same elements, including carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. As we more profoundly consider these interconnections, we must ask ourselves: What are the implications for the...