11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

NOTES 1 Brandy Nālani McDougall, ‘Mo‘oku‘auhau versus colonial entitlement in English translations of the Kumulipo ’, American Quarterly , vol.67, no.3, September 2015, pp.749–79. 2 Ultimately, Lili‘uokalani abdicated the throne in return for the release — and withdrawal of the death sentences — of her captured supporters. 3 McDougall, p.752. 4 ‘ The Kumulipo : Translated by Queen Liliuokalani [1897]’, Sacred Text Archive , <sacred- texts.com/pac/lku/index.htm> , viewed March 2024. 5 Jessica Evans, ‘Traditional Hawaiian quilting’, College of Education University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa , <coe.hawaii.edu/ ethnomath/wp-content/uploads/ sites/12/2019/10/Traditional- Hawaiian-Quilting.pdf>, viewed March 2024. KANAKA ‘ŌIWI BORN 1949, HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I; DIED2024, HONOLULU LIVED+WORKED INHAWAI‘I In 1895, Queen Lili‘uokalani of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i was put on trial, sentenced and imprisoned in her home, ‘Iolani Palace, in Honolulu. Her crime was concealing knowledge of treason after a group of royalists attempted to reinstate her as the Hawaiian sovereign, following her illegal overthrow just two years earlier. She remained isolated from her community in the palace until October 1896. 1 This time represents a significant period of history for the indigenous people of Hawai‘i. 2 Although a time of great pain, this period is also revered for the many literary and artistic achievements of the Queen and her small group of devoted voluntary attendants. As a recognised kumu (teacher) and committed maker of kapa (Hawaiian barkcloth) and waiho‘olu‘u (natural dyes), the late Bernice Akamine was renowned for her quilt-making. It was Akamine’s intention to explore two important cultural artefacts for this Asia Pacific Triennial — one physical and one spiritual. The first would relate to a distinct 246 x 241cm quilt that Queen Lili‘uokalani made during her imprisonment, in which she joined irregularly shaped pieces of found fabrics, each painstakingly embroidered with names, dates and symbols of the old Hawai‘i and the events of the overthrow. The second would explore the deeply considered English translation of the Kumulipo — a 2108-line creation chant that captures the cosmogonic genealogy of over 800 generations of kings and queens, which articulates the ancient connections of the land, ocean, sky, peoples and gods of Hawai‘i. 3 Akamine’s Queen’s Quilt would mark the artist’s second attempt to recast — using Hawaiian kapa — the intricate pattern of Lili‘uokalani’s imprisonment quilt, which hangs in ‘Iolani Palace in the very room where the Queen was confined. The artist planted, nurtured, harvested and beat the bark of the wauke (paper mulberry, or Broussonetia papyrifera ) for this work, embossing the resulting kapa with watermarks that reference the Kumulipo . Akamine’s Queen’s Quilt represents a liberated counterpart to Lili‘uokalani’s famed work, as it depicts the spirit and stories of the original in a form that celebrates the enduring potency of the ‘aina (land), the loyal aspirations of the lāhui (people of Hawai‘i), and the resurgence of cultural knowledge and practices. Sadly, Akamine passed away before she was able to complete her work. The artist’s desire to honour and deepen her understanding of the Kumulipo creation chant is expressed through a second work that was completed for this Triennial with the support of her daughter, Ka‘iulani Akamine. In Kumu 2024, the artists layered kapa — carefully watermarked and adorned with prepared natural pigments using ‘ohe kapala (carved bamboo stamps), as well as biological illustrations — to celebrate the connections between specific sea corals and land plants as articulated in the chant. These connections imply that by caring for a plant species, you are also caring for its oceanic counterpart. Intelligent and considered care for plant species is integral to the Akamines’ practices, and this work honours our connections and responsibilities to the natural world, as well as to each other. A section of the Kumulipo reads: Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Hee was born and lived in the sea; Guarded by the Walahee that grew in the forest. A night of flight by noises Through a channel; salt water is life to fish; So the gods may enter, but not man. Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Oopukai was born and lived in the sea; Guarded by the Oopuwai that lived in the forest. A night of flight by noises Through a channel; salt water is life to fish; So the gods may enter, but not man. 4 In the early nineteenth century, the increasing influence of foreign powers in Hawai‘i resulted in a decline in kapa-making, which was replaced by imported fabrics from the West, and the associated practices of quilting and embroidery. 5 Bernice Akamine’s work investigates the history of kapa-making in parallel to introduced fabrics and techniques, and alongside changes in the country’s social and political landscape. Her evocative Queen’s Quilt and Kumu expertly extend the narrative of Hawaiian textiles into a space of hope and constructive resilience. As her last completed artwork, Kumu resonates with the artist’s expansive legacy of compassionate and deeply considered works that skilfully redirect the dynamics of oppression and foreign influence towards acknowledging the importance of indigenous knowledge systems and sovereignty. RUHA FIFITA BERNICEAKAMINE Kumu (detail) 2024 / Earth pigments and ink on kapa (hand-beaten paper mulberry), cotton thread and interfacing fabric / 188 × 188cm (approx.) / Commissioned for APT11 / Purchased 2024 with funds from Margaret Mittelheuser AM and Cathryn Mittelheuser AM through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / Photograph: Nam Le Bernice Akamine / Photograph: Bob Douglas ARTISTS+PROJECTS ASIAPACIFICTRIENNIAL 46 — 47