Client: Highridge Costa

Overview

“Realm of Namaka,” a mixed-media installation evoking the spirit, wisdom and longevity of Namaka, the Hawaiian Goddess of the Ocean. The nature of my larger-scale art is to induce the sensation of an idea, space, or location. “Namaka” is the sensation of being under, being part of the ocean.

This mixed media sculpture, 4 months in the making, fills the entire entrance lobby of this residential tower. As the resident enters, they are surrounded with pieces dripping down the walls, swimming across the ceiling and merging with other pieces that swirl downward. The colors shift and change as the sunlight penetrates the lobby and cascades across the walls. Exactly like being under water, the sunlight glitters, shifts, and morphs off of the pieces just like you would see on the scales of fish and the ocean floor.

Totaling six 8’ tall wall pieces, another four 5’ tall wall pieces, and seventy five 6” “fish” that school across the ceiling. All pieces are sculpted from solid wood panels with 7 layers of paint, resin, metallic waxes, metal art foils, oil pastels, and acrylic paint. The wall pieces installed with french cleats and fish hung with copper wire from the ceiling.

Goals

Their Goal was to have one singular piece of art in their lobby. They chose to put the art budget for the building into the lobby art, rather than in separate replicated pieces on each floor. This directly effected the design because they and I felt that the art in the lobby then needed to be an experience rather than just merely decoration.
Therefore I turned the design into experiential, evoking emotion, sensation and integration.

Process

The client was initially interested in one singular sculpture for their lobby, but their budget was not robust enough for it. Because their overall goal was to put their art budget for the entire building into only the lobby, it made more sense to fill the lobby with art so they got the most of the space and art. My main recommendation was to turn the whole lobby into an installation.
After several discussions with the company, the art acquisition lead, the building construction contractor, and myself, I gave them 3 separate designs to consider. Each design had the same theme, the same essence but different shapes. Each was to fill the space with a sense of the ocean and natural heritage of the Hawaiian Islands.
After one month we settled on a final design which included the number of pieces, shape, color, placement, installation detail, and installation date. Overall the process to begin production of the art took 2 months.

Additional Information

The purpose of this residential tower was to provide income affordable for 55+ residents. This is new for Oahu and Honolulu to have these kinds of rent restricted locations, and is highly coveted. Their request was to help the residents feel respected, acknowledged for the longevity of age. I turned my design theme to the ancient myths that are alive and breathing on the islands. Choosing “Namaka", the Hawaiian goddess of the ocean, as the main theme. She is the sister of the Volcano Goddess Pele who is the main most powerful archetype of longevity on the islands. However her forces are more destructive in nature, and I chose to leverage the nurturing energy of the ocean. They were pleased with "Namaka", and the residents have commented that they appreciate the thought in the artistic theme and process.