“I do large, monumental works because it’s a statement that we Hawaiians are still here and we have a voice.”
Name: Kaili Chun
Job: Sculptor and Installation Artist
Company: G70
My Job: At G70, Kaili Chun informs designers of cultural and artistic elements that can be incorporated into place-based projects. She is part of the design firm’s culture committee, Nā Makamaka o Kou, which includes architects, designers and planners who draw on cultural research as an integral part of the design process.
“My work takes into consideration where it is going to be produced, and who it is going to be produced for,” Chun says. “Is it a Hawaiian audience, a local, national or international audience? The work I do here is specifically based in Hawai‘i for Hawai‘i, but it’s also for Hawaiians, locals and malihini (newcomers and tourists). It hopefully brings awareness of the history and genealogy of the place.”
Her Approach: “I do large, monumental works because it’s a statement that we Hawaiians are still here and we have a voice. We can speak through various methods, and for me, that method is through art.”
Local Works: Chun collaborates with local artists and engineers to create her own installation art pieces and sculptures sprinkled throughout Hawai‘i. Her custom pieces can be spotted in the lobby of the Prince Waikiki hotel, the exterior of the Hawai‘i State Hospital and on the walls of the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Ho‘okupu Center at Kewalo Basin.
“I take a more contemporary approach to the aesthetic of the work. It is definitely a Hawaiian understanding of the world through a Hawaiian experience, and I think it’s important for us to continue to insert that into the visual environment in which we live.”
‘Ohana: Chun credits her achievements and inspirations to her ‘ohana and mentors. Her parents and grandparents on both sides are Native Hawaiian, with her family well-represented in the performing arts and academia. Her father was the president of Kamehameha Schools and her maternal great-grandmother was renowned Hawaiian musician Bina Mossman. “I was raised with my grandparents, on my mom’s side, and it was a time when the Hawaiian language wasn’t as prevalent as it is now. But I feel like I live with a Hawaiian perspective and a Hawaiian worldview, and I hope to bring to the design process some of this insight, some of my reference points for creating art.”
Education: At Princeton and UH Mānoa, she studied under ceramicist Toshiko Takaezu and canoe builder ‘Elemakule Bowman Sr. She says the reciprocal relationships she shared with her mentors contrasts with the more transactional norms commonplace today.
“I hope that I can contribute to nurturing that reciprocity back in my own relationships with students who will not only find their own path, but also find value in serving others instead of serving themselves.”
International Works: In 2022, she collaborated with Indigenous artists on a project at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane. The project involved the gathering of water at sites significant to the Indigenous peoples of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands; her relationships with the native communities remain essential to her artistic approach.
The installation, titled “Uwē ka lani, Ola ka honua,” featured 350 cables strung from the ceiling to the floor, emphasizing the link between sources of water and sources of life, and how Indigenous people share the Earth’s prosperity with their own.
“That’s just one example of how I try to be respectful of going into another person’s own land. I would say that my work picks up on different threads of influence and motivation, based on the stories of that place.”
Mission: “I know we cannot ever bring back the Pi‘inaio Stream that used to flow through the site where Prince Waikiki now sits, and I know we’re never going to get rid of the Ala Wai Canal or Magic Island, which were man-made. But we can – through these artworks and various types of installations – bring back the memories and history of that place and educate people. We can at least give them a sampling of history and make them a little more aware of this place.”