Punahele
Punahele
The Return
Living Room
Artist Statement
Being a part of Shangri La’s 8x8 exhibition has allowed me to build with cultures that are on the other side of the honua. It has revealed to me that I can “hoʻi i ka piko” while mālama-ing other cultures and communities who face similar struggles because a source of liberation is solidarity.
This mele is about how most museums are colonial legacies and a repository of stolen artifacts, and how these artifacts should all be returned. It questions the overall ethics of acquiring pieces of art like an Ilkhanate lusterware mihrab in spaces like Shangri La. Students of the Hawaiian Youths abroad program in 2018 told me stories about warehouses in England that are filled with tons of Hawaiian artifacts. It hurts my heart to know that a vast amount of my culture is stored in private collections and in the warehouses of colonizers. This mele calls for land back, de-occupation and the returning of stolen artifacts to their ʻāina hānau.
Punahele
Punahele is a Kānaka Maoli artist and educator from Mākaha, Hawaiʻi. He stands against anything that is harmful to ʻāina. He is an award-winning poet and Hip-Hop practitioner who has been teaching community songwriting and poetry workshops to incarcerated and “at-risk” youth for over a decade. Punahele’s work has been described as the soundtrack to Hawaiian revolutionaries and their struggles on the frontlines protecting land and culture. He is dedicated to serving his family, culture and community while building Indigenous solidarity in Oceania and beyond.
— Punahele
