Au'au Channel, Hawai'i

Artwork

CreatorBinney, DonNameAu'au Channel, Hawai'iDate Made1991Medium DescriptionColoured pencil on paperObject NumberLU190Dimensionssight 587 mm x 417 mmFurther information“Hawai’i was a recovery – like learning to swim or walk or talk again.” Don Binney, March 1991

Don Binney (1940 -2012) is known throughout New Zealand for his images featuring birds, landforms, and bold, defined colours. His lifelong fascination with ornithology informed his 40-plus year career, but he didn’t think it defined him – he also painted a variety of subjects in the natural world, and of everyday spaces, places, and people.
His first visit to Hawai’i in 1991 reignited an interest in indigenous Pacific cultures, art, and history, as well as the islands’ geology, spiritual energies, and migration patterns. From this trip, Binney produced a series of works in which he replaced a bird in flight with an ahu’ula (a traditional Hawaiian feather cloak) protectively arching over the land below, a composition reminiscent of John Bevan Ford’s drawings with suspended kakahu.

Gregory O’Brien (2023) writes that “[Binney] was fascinated by the way these garments brought together the realms of his birds (feathers) and humanity (weaving).” These ahu’ula had a history as items of cultural gift exchange, and many were gifted by Hawaiians to other nations, including on Captain Cooks visit to Hawaii in 1778-79. This role, along with the visual design created by thousands of small feathers, strongly appealed to him.Artwork CopyrightAll rights reservedKeywordsMountains | maungaWater | waiClouds | KapuaCloak | kākahu

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Au'au Channel, Hawai'i

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