PIKO
VIRTUAL REALITY AND PROJECTION INSTALLATION, 2021
(pī'-ko), n.
Navel, umbilical cord; blood relative, genitals; summit or top of a hill or mountain; crest; crown of the head; purity.
Shot over the course of two years at 8,000 ft above sea level on island of Hawaiʻi at Puʻukoli, this is the first time Maunakea, Maunaloa and Hualalai have been filmed simultaneously in 360° presented in time-lapse, in both Virtual Reality and projection.
Filmmaker Christopher Kahunahana, Kumu Hula Lanakila Mangauil and Artist Nicole Naone; take their protection of Maunakea to the Honolulu Museum of Art with a fully immersive installation.
Whether it be a dynasty’s collection of fine art, or religious relics - museums house and protect that which is sacred. Within indigenous communities, the scale of these sacred objects increases tremendously: a sacred river, a sacred lake, a sacred mountain. Is a painting of a mountain more or less sacred than the mountain itself? This immersive experience collaborates with technology and exists as a bridge to the sacred.
The Hydrologic Cycle, Evolution, The Big Bang Theory - all are terms used to explain processes that have been described in intricate detail by kanaka maoli (indigenous Hawaiian peoples) for centuries. The oration presented in this piece, references these understandings and contextualizes Kanaka Maoli in Hawaiʻi not only geographically, but genealogically. These chants describe how we are not merely inhabitants of this place - we are its descendants, with a familial line spanning both time and space.
PIKO was shot at 8,888 feet above sea level, in 360° time-lapse on the island of Hawaiʻi at Puʻukohe (also referred to as Pu’ukoli). The eternal majesty of this place is undeniable.
He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauwā ke kanaka.
Kū Kiaʻi Mauna. Aloha ʻĀina. Kapu Aloha. ʻOiaʻiʻo.
