He Hae Hoʻailona Ia
January 17 - February 5, 2020
January 17 - February 5, 2020
Drew Kahuʻāina Broderick & Sancia Shiba
Nanea Lum
Lehuauakea Fernandez
Josiah Kekoanui Patterson
Jane Chang Mi
Four Unknown Makers From Luzon
curated by Josh Tengan
HE HAE HŌʻAILONA IA (THE FLAG IS A SIGN) brings together Hawaiʻi-artists whose work reflects on the symbol of the flag and ka Hae Hawaiʻi.
An object of nationalism, the flag is a universally recognized symbol of the modern nation state. From its creation and development in the 1800s, ka hae Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian flag) was used as a tool for nation building – a way to solidify a strategic alliance and to deepen the allegiance of the Kingdom’s citizens and subjects.
From the landscape painting of Joseph Nāwahī in the late 1800s, to the Hae Hawaiʻi Quilts which spread across the paeʻāina in secrecy after the overthrow, Kānaka have used the Hawaiian flag as a symbol of aloha ʻāina (love of land) and devotion to Hawaiian Kingdom. The symbol of the American flag is also included in the exhibition, as well as other expressions of indigeneity and corporatism.
The exhibition title is derived from the quote, “He hae hōʻailona ia no ka holomua, ka maluhia, ka lōkahi, a me ke aloha,” from the article “Ka Hae Hawaiʻi” published on Wednesday, August 15, 1883 in the Hawaiian Newspaper Ke Koʻo o Hawaiʻi. Translated, the quote reads: “The flag is a symbol of progress, of peace, of unity, and of aloha.”
