Artist Statement
“Found, Not Lost” is a series of portraits of contemporary native Hawaiians painted in oils on found materials. As a native Hawaiian myself, I have been acutely aware of the lack of positive images of Hawaiians. I painted this series in order to convey the beauty, strength and quiet dignity of our people to offer non-Hawaiians an insight into the indigenous people of our islands, as well as to evoke a sense of pride for my Hawaiian brothers and sisters.
Some of these portraits focus on features beyond the traditional portrait format, focusing instead on the subject's scars, tattoos or other characteristics that serve to define them. All the subjects are people I know. Among them are a former professional mixed martial arts fighter, several traditional Hawaiian cultural arts practitioners, a church deacon, a former police sniper, as well as several traditional Hawaiian musicians and Hula dancers. Many of them speak our native tongue fluently. All of them have a beautiful aura, which I have tried to convey in these paintings.
I have painted these portraits on found materials to honor the Hawaiian belief in the concept of mana, the lifeforce we believe exists in all things. I choose materials that have had a life of service and have accumulated some experience, often evidenced by scars, breaks and other marks- not unlike people. When I add my own mana to that of the painting's subject and the material, I believe the resulting portrait to be much more powerful. I see the portraits as the partnership between myself, the subject and the materials. None of the portraits have much background detail in order to highlight the materials themselves. In this way, I am also suggesting that these subjects are part of the material, part of the natural world around us and not separate from or above it.
The process of making these works has been so valuable to me, because it has afforded me the opportunity to spend time with some amazing Hawaiians while allowing me to come in contact with some beautiful materials that have been gracious enough to share their mana with me. These are gifts I will always treasure.
Some of these portraits focus on features beyond the traditional portrait format, focusing instead on the subject's scars, tattoos or other characteristics that serve to define them. All the subjects are people I know. Among them are a former professional mixed martial arts fighter, several traditional Hawaiian cultural arts practitioners, a church deacon, a former police sniper, as well as several traditional Hawaiian musicians and Hula dancers. Many of them speak our native tongue fluently. All of them have a beautiful aura, which I have tried to convey in these paintings.
I have painted these portraits on found materials to honor the Hawaiian belief in the concept of mana, the lifeforce we believe exists in all things. I choose materials that have had a life of service and have accumulated some experience, often evidenced by scars, breaks and other marks- not unlike people. When I add my own mana to that of the painting's subject and the material, I believe the resulting portrait to be much more powerful. I see the portraits as the partnership between myself, the subject and the materials. None of the portraits have much background detail in order to highlight the materials themselves. In this way, I am also suggesting that these subjects are part of the material, part of the natural world around us and not separate from or above it.
The process of making these works has been so valuable to me, because it has afforded me the opportunity to spend time with some amazing Hawaiians while allowing me to come in contact with some beautiful materials that have been gracious enough to share their mana with me. These are gifts I will always treasure.