crossworldsinHawai'i_EN

Prime

 

John Hina (everyone calls him “Prime”) was working on his latest mural when we met him. His daughters Shanalisa and Arieta were observing him. The mural is part of a series of ten worldwide having water and its local issues as a central theme. One was made in Los Angeles, another in Oakland, and others are planned in the Philippines, Palestine, El Salvador and Colombia. Estria Miyashiro started the whole project. After having seen the mural on Pāwaʻa Street he asked Prime and about ten other people to join the adventure. Prime’s latest mural represents the water cycle in Hawaiʻi from the land to the ocean, “mauka to makai” in Hawaiian. The mural shows cold rainwater that makes taro grow. The water flows downhill into fishponds and continues downward in sugarcane and other crops before it finally returns to the ocean. The Hawaiians formed a thriving community before the arrival of the military at Pearl Harbor, breaking this cycle. His mural also presents a vision of Hawaiʻi’s future for water and energy supplies with solar panels, wind farms and vegetation-covered buildings. This future is already happening on the windward side of Oʻahu, in Waiāhole, where water turbines, solar panels and hydroponic gardens provide electricity and energy-independence to a whole community living on about twenty acres. Queen Lili`uokalani is the centerpiece of the mural because she was instrumental in making water a public trust before the overthrown of the Hawaiian Kingdom. She is depicted with David Kalākaua’s cape and crown to honor the monarch who embraced technology and change without compromising the Hawaiian culture.

Prime grew up on Oʻahu. His mother is Samoan and his father Hawaiian. As a child he used to swim in the Ala Wai canal. Now the water there is too polluted and his children cannot play anymore where he used to. They have to go elsewhere, away from the crowd. Prime remembers that when he was a child people knew each other and if “dad didn’t get paid” the grocer would put it on his tab. This personal relation disappeared when the convenience stores and large department stores arrived. Even though they were only three at home when Prime was a child, they used to cook for twenty and share with neighbors and with people who had no time to cook because of their work. Nowadays people are scared to share and to connect with each other. Prime’s father was not allowed to speak Hawaiian so Prime learned English and Samoan. Prime speaks Samoan to his children and today he is happy to see that Hawaiian children speak to their parents in Hawaiian. This knowledge has jumped a generation but is still very much alive. Prime now lives in Waiʻanae where he enjoys going to the beach with his five children. According to him, the aloha spirit still exist in the country but it is twisted in the city because the many different cultures can sometimes be a source of misunderstanding.

Prime came to doing graffiti via locking and popping, the ancestor of breaking (also known as break dancing). This movement was born in New York and it came to Oʻahu in 1984-1985. Graffiti is one of the “four legs” of hip hop. The other “legs” are DJ, MC (rapper) and B-Boy (break dancer). The graffiti community is mainly underground. When Prime decided to go public and to convey his messages on murals he did not have any support from his community. Today, things have changed and some of the graffiti artists participate in his murals. Prime has worked with people from Paris, Australia, Germany as well as with many other international artists who visited the island. Meeting them is the occasion for him to exchange experience and knowledge. The younger generation uses Internet instead. They learn much faster but they loose information about the creation process according to Prime.

Prime grew up in the city. He thinks that the concrete jungle creates lots of opportunities for graffiti. After all, aren’t the buildings a form of graffiti, too? Today there is a renaissance of graffiti and kids are interested in it. For the past five years, Prime has been working with teenagers living in difficult neighborhoods. He is teaching them the history, the etiquette, the respect, the rules of graffiti, and the lifestyle that goes with it. When the kids take part in the eight-week workshop he organizes, they have to maintain a GPA and he checks their attendance and stays in touch with them and their families. The kids start with “Graffiti 101” and once they reached the next level it is their turn to teach “Graffiti 101” to the newcomers. This way, knowledge is passed from one to the other. Murals are the most evolved form of graffiti and some of those kids come to his latest mural to watch and learn from the experienced artists.

Prime’s agenda is already filled for the rest of the year. He will organize a workshop on Maui in July and he will have a solo performance at the Fresh Café in Kaka'ako in August. His latest mural will be unveiled on July 7^th between 4 and 7pm at 905 Kokea Street. There will be a big party with hip hop and traditional Hawaiian performances.

If you want to learn more about Prime, visit his website or his Facebook page.

John, mahalo nui loa for sharing your aloha with us!