Light Monument | Spring 2024 Installation | Kuʻu Pua [or] Paoakalani
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LIGHT MONUMENT - kuʻu pua [or] paoakalani
ʻALOHILANI RESORT Waikīkī BEACH
Kuʻu Pua [or] Paoakalani is a video installation for the Light Monument at ʻAlohilani Resort inspired by the mele - Kuʻu Pua I Paoakalani - written and composed by Queen Liliʻuokalani
Runtime: Approx. 10 min 12 sec on a loop
Featuring: Tiare Thomas Harris
Muʻumuʻu Provided by: Muʻumuʻu Library
Crown Flower Lei Provided by: Pakalana Mai Nei
Produced by: Nella Media Group
Created by: Joseph K Paʻahana
Objective:
Create an atmospheric video installation for the Light Monument at ʻAlohilani Resort celebrating the Spring and Queen Liliʻuokalani.
PROCESS:
We set out to identify a poem or song created by the Queen that relates to spring and all that it brings. The Flowers, The Rain, May Day(Lei Day), The Merrie Monarch Festival. Once we could identify this work of the Queen we could work to develop and capture images that both literally and figuratively represent what the peice speaks to. In this process, we came across the famous song Kuʻu Pua I Paoakalani and though it was a fitting song to honor the Spring and the Queen’s story.
Kuʻu Pua I Paoakalani, was written by Queen Liliʻuokalani while imprisoned in ʻIolani Palace. The song speaks of two royal gardens, Uluhaimalama, in Pauoa Valley and the Queen’s personal garden retreat, Paoakalani in Waikīkī. She tells of the flowers from Uluhaimalama and how they were beautiful but incomparable to that of the flower that grew in the fields of Paoakalani. A secret meaning or riddle is embeded in the lyrics inviting the listener to decipher it. She ask to identify the flower that she is singing about.
“Now name to me the one I love
Gentle breezes passing by
And bring to me that blossom fair
That blooms in the fields of Paoakalani”
If the riddle is understood then a deeper meaning is revealed beyond the lyrics.
The flower she is describing is the ʻŪlei blossom. This flower appears in the video at the end of the hula, above the dancer’s (Tiare) out stretch hand posed in a pua. The ʻŪlei is a favorite amongst lei makers alongside ōhiʻa lehua for their cultural significants. The ʻŪlei have been used for fishing implements, printmaking and musical instruments for their strong flexable wood. The ʻŪlei can also symbolize the Hawaiʻian people. A resilient perenial flower.
We filmed trees and flowers including the purple crown flower, a favor of Queen Liliʻuokalani, at Uluhaimalama and the surrounding area. Lehua and ʻŪlei shrubs are picture along side other popular garden plants found all over Hawaii. Uluhaimalama means, inspiring offering [of] enlightenment. We pictured the flowers and the dancer blooming in the darkness to parallel the arrive of spring as a rebirth and the allegorical message of Uluhaimalama.
The Hula was choreographed to this rendition of Kuʻu Pua I Paoakalani, by Lito Arkangel.
Original Song Written By Queen Liliʻuokalani
Kuʻu Pua I Paoakalani
E ka gentle breeze a pa mai nei
Hoʻohāliʻaliʻa mai ana iaʻu
E kuʻu sweet never fading flower
I pua i ka uka o Paoakalani
Hui:
ʻIke mau i ka nani o nā pua
O ka uka o Uluhaimalama
ʻAʻole naʻe hoʻi e like
Me kuʻu pua i ka laʻi oPaoakalani
Lahilahi kona ma hiʻona
With softest eyes as black as jet
Pink cheeks so delicate of hue
I ulu i ka uka o Paoakalani
Nane ʻia mai ana kuʻu aloha
E ka gentle breeze e waft mai nei
O come to me kaʻu mea e liʻa nei
I ulu ika uka o Paoakalani
O gentle breeze that waft to me
Sweet, cherished memories of you
Of my sweet never fading flower
That blooms in the fields of Paoakalani
Chorus:
I've often seen those beauteous flowers
That grew at Uluhaimalama
But none of those could be compared
To my flower that blooms in the fields of
Paoakalani Her face is fair to behold
With softest eyes as black as jet
Pink cheeks so delicate of hue
That grew in the fields of Paoakalani
Now name to me the one I love
Gentle breezes passing by
And bring to me that blossom fair
That blooms in the fields of Paoakalani