NĀ ‘AUMAKUA
Artist Collection
Size: 11” x 17”
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Board, series
2020
Nā ʻAumakua is a layered acrylic painting that honors the continued presence of ancestral guardians in the lives of Kanaka Maoli. Through a process of Indigenous abstraction, the work moves beyond representational form to evoke the felt presence of ʻaumakua—deified ancestors who guide and protect their descendants across time.
Using translucent washes, gestural markings, and layered textures, the painting invites the viewer into a visual space shaped by memory, genealogy, and spiritual connection. The forms are intentionally ambiguous, allowing ancestral energy to emerge through movement, color, and rhythm—rather than fixed imagery. Echoes of wind, water, cloud, and light offer glimpses of the many ways ʻaumakua manifest in the natural world.
Rooted in Indigenous ways of seeing and remembering, this piece serves as a reminder that the wisdom and presence of those who came before continue to surround us—alive in land, breath, and story.
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.