Mystery Solved: We Now Know What the Street Art Mural at Thomas Square Says

Native Hawaiian artist Solomon Enos gives Thomas Square Park a hand—139 of them.

Photo: Courtesy of the City and County of Honolulu

If you haven’t driven past Thomas Square recently, it might be time to check it out—the park is sporting a bold new mural from local artist Solomon Enos, a series of roughly painted hands in red, white and blue, spelling out a message in sign language to symbolize the act of giving voice to the voiceless.

The project is part of a maintenance project for Thomas Square—the whole park is undergoing an extensive upgrade that involves replacing the Bermuda grass lawn with El Toro Zoysia grass, removing the mock orange hedge and four unhealthy trees, and pruning the banyan trees in the middle—and the construction walls surrounding the property had been blank until now, a magnet for graffiti writers.

To apply primer to the raw plywood panels, Enos had the help of volunteers. “Mahalo nui loa to Solomon Enos and the volunteers from American Savings Bank,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “They are helping us convert these necessary safety barriers into a meaningful and colorful visual treat for our residents and visitors while we move forward to maintain, and eventually restore, one of Honolulu’s crown jewels.”

The mural will be on display until the maintenance project is completed in July. And if you don’t happen to read sign language, the mural’s message can be translated as: “This square of land is a story about an admiral who made right from wrong with compassion. Moral: righteousness cultivates pricelessness.”

This article appears in the March 2017 issue of HONOLULU Magazine.