hanabada: once before, again

Dane Nakama

January 14 – February 12, 2022

Opening
January 14, 6–8pm

Closing
February 12, 5–7pm

_{“Some camps had kindergarten, but at that time, I was living in Camp 5, which did not have kindergarten. So when we went to first grade, and the other camp children started singing all this kind nursery rhymes, like ‘ABC’ and ‘Mary had a little Lamb’ we all looked at each other and asked ourselves, ‘Eh, where they learned all these kine songs?’ We never heard these songs befo…” Sunao Nakama (Grandpa Nakama)}

Aupuni Space is pleased to present hanabada: once before, again, a solo exhibition by Dane Nakama. Artworks are like imaginary friends, an extension of their family, mostly marked with two dots or holes for eyes, initially inspired by the haniwa figures of Japan. Nakama’s practice emphasizes the act of creating objects that create their own space, rather than simply making physical objects within space. Being raised in a large multi-ethnic “local mix” family, Nakama grew up understanding both themself and their art through the intersections and relationships of identities across personal, cultural, and now digital realms–learning that through hybridity comes community.





Dane Nakama is a Japanese-Uchinanchu artist from and currently based in Hawai‘i. They are a recent BFA graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, and have had work exhibited in California, Miami, and Tokyo.