8x8: Source | Noʻu Revilla | "Nānā i ke kumu"

This fourth installment of 8x8 brings together eight visual artists and eight performing artists based in Hawaiʻi to create new work inspired by their encounters with Shangri La. Sparking a generative force to this year's exhibition, the theme “source” has been interpreted by these artists to produce commentaries on topics ranging from sustainability and ancestry to rising and return.
The exhibition features eight performance artist videos, illustrating a rich tapestry of perspectives and interpretations, offering insights into the nuanced history, diverse collection, unique environment, and intricate complexities of both Shangri La and Hawaiʻi.
Noʻu Revilla | "Nānā i ke kumu"
The theme of “source” conjures the Hawaiian concept, nānā i ke kumu, which implores us to look to the source, especially in times of uncertainty or despair. What does this look like - nānā i ke kumu? One important way we as Kanaka Maoli look to the source is choosing to come back to our bodies, to come back to the bodies of our lands and waters and re-root in who and where we come from.
Yet what if our bodies have been violated? What if our bodies have been ripped apart, sold piece by piece, and occupied by the highest bidder? These questions come up in the history of the Qajar Gallery and how its interior came from a home in Damascus, which was purchased, retrofitted, shipped, and installed at Shangri La. These questions come up in the history of Hawaiʻi and its struggle for sovereignty. These questions come up in the history of my own body as a queer ʻŌiwi femme wahine. I refuse to be a vessel for Paradise. Paradise, for my people, has become an enduring fiction of lazy natives, cheap sexuality, and ʻāina that is passive and empty.
Learn more about Shangri La and the 8x8: Source exhibition at: www.shangrilah...
and @hi_shangrila