MO’IKEHA
Multi-Media Print on Paper, 2’ x 15’
Drawing from the moʻolelo of Moʻikeha — the celebrated Polynesian navigator whose journeys between Hawaiʻi and Kahiki speak to migration, return, and ancestral continuity — this work reflects voyaging not as physical movement alone, but as an ongoing practice of remembering where we come from and how knowledge is carried forward.
Developed through layered relief printing, gestural drawing, and mixed media during an Indigenous artist residency at the Longhouse at The Evergreen State College, Olympia. Recurring motifs suggest navigational maps, celestial alignments, and ancestral structures. At the center, a sail-like form anchors the composition — referencing both the act of voyaging and the directional knowledge passed down through generations.
Moʻikeha asks viewers to reflect on how ancestral stories remain active — not as distant history, but as living guides that continue to inform how we move, return, and find our way forward.
Private Collection
THE PROCESS
This artwork was created in dialogue with the sacred Hawaiian ‘oli Nā ‘Aumākua, specifically the invocation: “E mālama ‘oukou iā mākou” — “Watch over us, care for us.” These words served as both anchor and atmosphere in the creation process, guiding each gesture with intention and reverence. Rather than illustrating the chant, this series offers a visual embodiment of its spirit. The panels were created through a process of layering, veiling, and uncovering—each step mirroring the rhythms of the chant itself. Using acrylic and mixed media, I explored the boundaries between form and formlessness, presence and invisibility—echoing the way our ‘aumākua move between worlds. The soft, pale hues suggest the liminal: dreams, clouds, winds, breath. The geometric forms—abstract yet genealogically charged—reflect pathways of connection between ancestors and descendants. Each panel stands as a visual prayer, a call and response across generations. In honoring the plea of “E mālama ‘oukou iā mākou,” this work becomes both an offering and a request: a way to remember, to be remembered, and to affirm that the care of our ancestors surrounds us still.
