Hawaii artists bring ‘Paradise Lost’ to San Francisco

August 11, 2014

Olena Heu,

As Hawaii residents focus on getting life back on track after the recent hurricane and tropical storm warnings… It is interesting to note that while most were stocking up on bottled water and Spam, I had the honor of spending my hurricane prep time in the beautiful city by the bay — San Francisco. But, I wasn’t the only one from the Aloha State in town. It seemed like most I spoke to knew someone else from Hawaii who was in San Fran, for the Jay-Z and Beyonce concert, and I was no exception. Phenomenal show by the way!

The tail end of my trip, however, was focused on supporting two local artists who had been prepping for a gallery exhibit in SoMa. 1:AM (1000 Howard Street), short for First Amendment, launched in October 2008 and is a gallery space with a commitment to showcasing street art culture, community events, artists and education. Founder and Owner, Daniel Pan, invited Hawaii-based artists Kamea Hadar and Defer to collaborate for a one-month showing.

Hadar lives in Honolulu, and Defer is originally from Los Angeles, but now lives on Maui. The pair joined forces earlier this year during Pow! Wow! Hawaii 2014. For a look at the collaboration that sparked the partnership, take a drive past Fresh Cafe Kaka’ako and you will see the mural along Queen Street from the Kaka’ako Kool storefront to the Ewa entrance of the restaurant.

Over the past month, the two spent countless hours and many sleepless nights creating a series of pieces themed “Paradise Lost.” Influenced by 17th century English poet John Milton, the epic poem created a premise for the collaborative series and served as a inspirational catalyst. The exhibit is influenced by the story of Adam and Eve’s banishment from the Garden of Eden and the modern day interpretation of urbanization and transformation.

Defer’s typographic style is a unique approach to fine art, using embellishments of text. The “broken down” and “obliterated structures” based on lettering, calligraphy and gestured strokes come organically to the artist, who while living in LA, survived a gun shot wound to the head.

Raised in Hawaii, mixed-media/portrait artist and co-lead director of Pow! Wow! Hawaii, Hadar brushes oil on canvas to reveal figurative images of beautiful women and sensuous pieces aimed at showcasing the human form with highlights of Hawaii influences.

The pair collaborated on several pieces, which are now on sale, and also showcase some solo works. They also painted two murals together, one before the opening of the gallery exhibit along the gallery wall (1000 Howard St. and 6th Street) and another along Bush Street. Much remains ahead for these two, who will continue to collaborate and complement each other in the world of art and expression for the remainder of the year.

Here’s a look inside 1:AM at the “Paradise Lost” show, which allows these two artists to utilize their First Amendment right to display their freedom of expression and of course, speech.