To me, as a mixed race Malaysian artist living in the kingdom of Hawai’i, kapa means many things. It’s a tradition lost to the nation my father was born in, it is connection between the many islands of the pacific, including the ones where my family is from. It is the living breathing heart of my community in Hawai’i. It is a way to constantly be reminded of how connected craft is to culture and the past as a living present, that there is no linear way of expressing culture or continuing to steward and imagine its future.
Mahalo nui loa kumu Roen Hufford and my kapa hui.
“A path of flowers: hau, bunga raya, okra,” Kapa, cotton, overbeaten abaca, ceramic, dyes, 2025