Hawaii: Ma uka to Ma kai Quilting the Hawaiian Landscape
Pitt Rivers Museum
South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PP
Hawaii: Ma uka to Ma kai Quilting the Hawaiian Landscape
3D Virtual Exhibition Tour
This immersive experience invites visitors to delve into the rich cultural tapestry of Hawaiʻi and explore its deep connection to the land and sea.
Ma uka (toward the mountains) and Ma kai (toward the sea) are more than mere directional references; they embody the Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) understanding of care and access to natural and cultural resources within the ahupuaʻa, a land division extending from the mountains to the sea. Traditionally, Hawaiians recognized the interconnectedness between the land and sea, rainfall and vegetation, fostering a balanced ecosystem through sustainable practices. However, recent history has witnessed a disruption of these indigenous practices, leading to a decline in Hawaiian ecosystems and increased dependency on imports for sustenance.
HAWAIʻI Ma uka to Ma kai: Quilting the Hawaiian Landscape artfully weaves together narratives of the past, present and future ahupuaʻa through contemporary and historic mea noʻeau (skilfully created works). Visitors will embark on a journey through the exhibition, encountering the contemporary works of the Honolulu-based Poakalani Quilters, the innovative designs of fashion icon Manaola Yap, and the visionary planetary futurism of artist Solomon Enos. These practitioners embody a 21st-century sustainable stewardship, offering insights into the restoration and preservation of Hawaiian ecosystems while looking towards a future of abundance.
The exhibition features multiple displays and installations around the Museum, including a colourful display curated by members of the Remediating Stevenson Project, which combines contemporary drawings by Solomon Enos and British artist, Simon Grennan, with graphic adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Pacific fiction, set in late 19th-century Hawai’i, Sāmoa and French Polynesia, alongside late 19th-century Pacific photographs and artefacts from the Pitt Rivers Museum collections.
Music and dance also feature – the cultural dances of Hawaiian Hula and Tahitian ‘Ori play a vital part in religious ceremonies, social gatherings, celebrations and everyday life. They contain the knowledge and collected memory of its peoples, cultivated over generations and acting as a conduit between humanity and the divine. Using movement from Hula, ‘Ori Tahiti and contemporary motion, the London School of Hula and ‘Ori (LSHO) have created an original choreography, film and photo series for the exhibition, exploring the water cycle as the source of life and representing the intertwined and dynamic relationship between humanity and our environment.
Find out more: prm.ox.ac.uk
From 12th June 2024