ʻAuʻa 2019

Kapulani Landgraf (Kanaka ‘Ōiwi) works in photography, collage and installation, creating works about her ancestral homeland of Hawai‘i. In contrast to the stereotypical depictions of Hawai‘i as a tropical paradise and tourist playground, Landgraf explores the sense of custodianship and responsibility that Kanaka ‘Ōiwi (Native Hawaiians) have for their ‘aina (land). Her photographic landscapes are poetic evocations of sacred sites, while her collages are often politically charged.

Landgraf’s collages reconstruct and layer original and historical photography to reflect the change and damage manifested in both the physical and cultural landscapes of Hawai‘i. The artist adds a striking blood red to her monochromatic palette, which, when combined with potent symbols and patterning, foregrounds the importance of Hawaiian values and belief systems.

In 2019, Landgraf completed ‘Au’a, a series of 108 black-and-white photographic portraits of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi. The phrase ‘We are not American. He Hawai‘i au’ mau’ (‘I am forever Hawaiian’) is imprinted across each larger-than-life portrait. The effect is a resounding echo of the words of Dr Haunani-Kay Trask (1949–2021), a scholar, poet and champion of Hawaiian sovereignty, during her address from Iolani Palace on 17 January 1993, 100 years after the illegal overthrow of the reigning monarch Queen Liliʻuokalani. According to Landgraf:

When put together, it is all about Iāhu (Hawaiian people). A collective voice, a collective conviction to correct the wrong. Even though there are only 108 people portrayed in ‘Au’a, thousands are represented, including all our ancestors and future generations of ascendants.