KILO

Kilo means to observe. I wonder what the ʻAumākua are thinking as they watch us. Have we been watching the ʻAumākua as we should? Through them we can understand the past, thrive in the present, and prepare for the future.

ʻIo

Ink
2021
$175 drawing only

Moʻo: ʻAʻala

Ink
2021
$125 drawing only

Ink
2021
$50 drawing only

Moʻo: T-Rex

Hānau o Kanaloa

Acrylic on surfboard
2019
$Please pay my son’s tuition (he don’t go UH)

This surfboard was inspired by the chant He Kumulipo. It recounts the birth of Kanaloa, god of the sea.

0615. Hanau o Kanaloa, o ka he‘e-haunawela ia
Born was Kanaloa the hot-striking octopus
1530. Pola‘a
Born was Pola‘a
1531. Hanau ka ‘ino, hanau ke au
Born was rough weather, born the current
1532. Hanau ka pahupahu, kapohaha
Born the booming of the sea, the breaking of foam
1533. Hanau ka haluku, ka haloke, ka nakulu, ka honua naueue
Born the roaring, advancing, and receding of waves, the rumbling sound, the earthquake
1534. Ho‘iloli ke kai, pi‘i ka mauna
The sea rages, rises over the beach
1535. Ho‘omu ka wai, pi‘i kua a hale
Rises silently to the inhabited places
1536. Pi‘i konikonihi‘a, pi‘i na pou o Kanikawá
Rises gradually up over the land
1537. Lele na ihe a Kauikahó

After the painting progressed I started thinking of Pele chasing her lover Kamapua‘a, the pig-man, into the sea where he transforms into an octopus. In subsequent years she searches for him, sending tendrils of lava to the sea where he quenches her thirst.

Modern research illustrates the interconnectedness of life- the hot lava warmed the sea fostering algae growth which fed fish. Kamapua‘a’s kinolau or bodyforms include many fish. In effect, Pele still cares for her estranged lover.

Another meaning is that the creation recorded in the Kumulipo continues

Kaumuali‘i hānai iā Keōpūolani

Acrylic on surfboard
2019,
20 x 118 x 9”
$2700
Contact: devinoishi@yahoo.com
https://www.instagram.com/devinoishi/

Excerpted from He Kumulipo:
0139. Hanau ka Mano, hanau ka Moano, i ke kai la holo,
Born is the Mano [shark], born the Moano [goatfish] in the sea there swimming

January 2019 a dead sperm whale washed ashore at Honolulu near a place called Pakaka which was once Kamehameha’s home and heiau (temple). A large white shark named Big Blue came to feed on the whale. Noticing her enormous girth I thought immediately of Keōpūolani- the sacred wife of Kamehameha who birthed Liholiho and Kauikeaouli. Her name refers to her divine stomach. A friend responded, “Then the whale is Kaumuali‘i” because the chiefs feed the next generation.

I took the event as a sign that the kupuna continue to nourish us and that a new generation would be born to the lahui as we strive to create a world of balance.

Pakaka was the site where Kaumuali‘i agreed to give Kamehameha dominion over Kauai after his passing. The site is triangular and is illustrated on the 2nd dorsal fin.

Nāmāhoe (Gemini) was high in the sky over Pakaka on the nights when the great white was here. The constellation is depicted as 2 embryos swirling around like a yin and yang symbol in perpetual balance. The design is very similar to the Ōishi family crest.

The 3 runners become the tropic of Cancer, equator, and Capricorn.

Puʻuloa = Tiananmen

Digital
2022
11 x 14
$10 print only
$100 w frame

22 x 28
$100 print only
$200 w frame

When the Navy contaminated Red Hill I assumed the only thing we could do to get the mess cleaned up and protect our water was to shut down Pearl Harbor by blocking the road in the same way Maunakea was protected. I thought of that lone Chinese student against a column of tanks.

Puʻuloa = Tiananmen Aeʻo vs F18

Digital
2022
$10 print only
$100 w frame

When the Navy contaminated Red Hill I assumed the only thing we could do to get the mess cleaned up and protect our water was to shut down Pearl Harbor by blocking the road in the same way Maunakea was protected. I thought of that lone Chinese student against a column of tanks.