memory hiki ami
2011
80” x 99” x 14”
Cordage, fishing nets, tin split shot, aluminum
80” x 99” x 14”
Cordage, fishing nets, tin split shot, aluminum
Site-specific installation at the Honolulu Museum of Art, Spalding House, Hawai‘i
My interest in my family’s genealogy and history in Hawai‘i led to memory hiki ami. Over two miles of cordage was hand-knotted onto hanging nets to create the encoded patterns of my family tree and to accurately chronicle my maternal and paternal lines from their arrival in Hawai‘i to the present day. The hiki ami, or pull net, holds particular significance as my grandfather headed a fishing village in He‘eia on O‘ahu's windward coast.
Process
1.
Symbols for each family member were designed on the computer and then translated into a knotting pattern.
2.
Knotting in progress.
3.
Working with students from the University of Hawai‘i.
4.
Working with students from the University of Hawai‘i.
5.
Siting the work in the Spalding House garden at the Honolulu Museum of Art.
6.
Installing the frame base.
7.
Installing the frame base.
8.
Attaching the net to the frame.
9.
Attaching the net to the frame.
10.
The net on its way to the garden for final installation.
Special thanks to Inger Tully, Stefen Petrik and the students of the University of Hawai‘i Art 400 class: Sonia Castro, Ualani Davis, Gideon Gerlt, Yumiko Glover, Heather Matsura, Brandon Ng and Aaron Nicholson.
