Aina ("Land")

Honolulu, like San Francisco, is replete with public art. Most works go unnoticed, as residents and visitors rush to important appointments and destinations.

And so it was that I had the Aina ("Land") sculpture all to myself on a Tuesday morning. Commissioned by Hilton Hotels, Aina was unveiled to great fanfare in 2008 outside the Grand Waikikian Hotel.

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.

2008: how it was meant to be seen

The water has been turned off, and the flame no longer burns at the bottom edge of the ring. The depiction of the Elements--Earth, Air, Fire, and Water--is harder to discern, but the sculpture is impressive nonetheless.

The work is layered with meaning. Poi was central to the life of Hawaiians--Asian cultures place a similar importance on rice--and the poi pounder depicts the importance of food. There are three different kinds of poi pounders, and the artist chose the ring form to represent the dual image of the element Air as well as Life itself.

We learned the state motto in first grade, ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono (the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness); only now am I beginning to glimpse its meaning.