Hilton Grand Vacation Waikiki
Aina … the sculpture hewn from granite the color of polished warm sand. It is a cycle of the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, those very elements that continuously shape all that surrounds us. Inspired by the classic Hawaiian ring poi pounder, pohaku ku’i ai puka, this monumental ten ton arch floats on the surging waters that erupt around its three ton, black and red granite bowl or papa ku’iai and cascade down the lava rock he’eau that surrounds it. Cutting across the top of the ring is the carved profile of the islands surrounded by a moat of water that spills on either side down the roughly textured channels that flair to its base reminding us of Hawaii’s many stunning waterfalls. Within the center of the arch which defines the element of Air there is a central flowing well of Water that overflows on either side in textured flaring channels into the bowl. Emerging from the center of this well and framed by the arch of granite burns the element of Fire.
Commissioned by the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, Hawai’i
Completed in December, 2008
72” x 34” x 24” fountain in bronze and cast stone
Ma ka Lihi is a dramatic expression of a world in danger. Earth has found itself on the edge of a precipice gripped by the handoff. Man who himself is caught between extremes of hig own making. We are a bipolar species where we have inherited a mindset that sees the bounty of the Earth as booty for our benefit. We play with it as if it were a game and on closer inspection, the globe is, in actuality, a basketball. At the shoulder, the arm transforms into the wing of an eagle in flight representing that aspect of mankind that realizes the danger at hand and which strives to uplift the Earth from this ecological dilemma. We see both sides of our relationship to nature and are asked to choose. It is a snapshot of Man’s relationship to Planet Earth in the 21st century.
Limited edition of 12
Ma ka Lihi is a dramatic expression
of a world in danger. Earth has found itself on the edge of a precipice gripped by the handoff. Man who himself is caught between extremes of hig own making. We are a bipolar species where we have inherited a mindset that sees the bounty of the Earth as booty for our benefit. We play with it as if it were a game and on closer inspection, the globe is, in actuality, a basketball. At the shoulder, the arm transforms into the wing of an eagle in flight representing that aspect of mankind that realizes the danger at hand and which strives to uplift the Earth from this ecological dilemma. We see both sides of our relationship to nature and are asked to choose. It is a snapshot of Man’s relationship to Planet Earth in the 21st century.
Limited edition of 12
