WAYFINDING PUBLIC ART @ WAILUKU GARAGE
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In February 2023, SMALL TOWN * BIG ART partnered with the Wailuku Garage construction team at Dowling Company to seek public artwork at select sites throughout the project. Of the 38 applications received, our community panel selected 2 to enter project development.
Beginning in May 2023, Wooden Wave artists Matthew and Roxy Ortiz will design a mural series in collaboration with community members that celebrate Wailuku history, culture and sense of place as part of the SMALL TOWN * BIG ART initiative. Concurrently, Sae Design Group will integrate this artwork into wayfinding signage and story panels as an initiative of Park Maui. When Wailuku residents and visitors use the Wailuku Garage, they will be greeted by an immediate experience of this special community. Escaping the steel and glass of their cars, they feel the weather, hear the sounds, smell the air and see the light of their immediate experience. This experience leaves an impression, and that impression adds to their total experience of Wailuku Town. |
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Wooden Wave | @wooden_wave
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Bio: Artists Matthew Kawika Ortiz and Roxanne Ortiz are a husband-and-wife creative duo, who paint under the name Wooden Wave. Born and raised in Hawaiʻi, they draw upon Hawaiian values and concepts to present them in a contemporary visual context. They create custom artwork using research specific to the site and its geographical location. Place-based stories and histories are incorporated with a conscious attention to detail. Their colorful imagery emphasizes the beautiful patterns and lifeforms of Hawaiʻi, while telling a story of the site. Their artistic goal is to bring a playful perspective to the world-at-large and to bring hope and joy to those who view their art.
Wooden Wave has painted murals across Hawaiʻi and the continental United States. Locations include the headquarters of Zappos and REI. They also specialize in illustration, with clients including musician Jack Johnson, comedian George Lopez, and boxer Floyd Mayweather. They’ve designed shoe collections for the footwear company Olukai, and continue to do creative work for the brand. Roxy and Matt have exhibited their fine art paintings in the US and abroad, including two exhibitions with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. In 2019, Matt was a contestant on NBC’s craft competition show, “Making It.” As AAPI artists, they enjoy opportunities to share the culture of Hawaiʻi with the world. Click here to see Wooden Wave's 2019 Wailuku mural, completed in collaboration with PangeaSeed's Mauka to Makai project. |
Proposal Excerpts
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Wai is the source of life. We wanted to showcase the different environments, forms, and cycles that wai is a part of. Each level has landscape elements, a color palette, and animal species that are unique to that floor:
1st floor inspiration: Ahupua‘a, where the streams meet the sea, the connection between the wai and the ocean ecosystem. 2st floor inspiration: The realm of kānaka, where people reside and cultivate the land. A tribute to how the Nā Wai ‘Ehā was once the largest contiguously cultivated kalo region in all of Hawai‘i. 3st floor inspiration: Realm of the Gods, the upper sacred forests, Puʻu Kukui & Honokohau Falls, the source of wai for the entire ahupuaʻa. These details bring opportunities to surprise and delight, while showcasing the local ecosystem. Just because something is utilitarian doesn’t mean it can’t be fun! We imagine families waiting for the elevator and being able to easily remember the floor that they’re on by pointing out an ‘opae or papio. While driving through the parking garage you are immersed in the cool waters, enjoying a slightly different experience on each floor. Going up, you are mimicking an accent from the ocean waves, through kalo streams, to the misty clouds. And there’s rainbows to bring joy if you spot them. |
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Uncle Skippy Hau & Dean Tokishi
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‘Ōlelo No‘eau meeting with Sissy Lake-Farm
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Scott Fisher
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Hōkūao Pellegrino
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Project Development Timeline
- Feb 23, 2023: Request for Expression of Interest is released
- Apr 6: Panel review 1 of 2
- Apr 19: Panel review 2 of 2; finalists Q&A period begins
- May 3: Collaborative site visit of Wailuku Garage
- May 12: Contracts completed
- May 16: ‘Ōlelo No‘eau meeting with Sissy Lake-Farm (WATCH)
- May 18: Community consultation with marine biologists Uncle Skippy Hau and Dean Tokishi (to help select wailele-themed creatures for mural design) (WATCH)
- May 18: Community consultation with Hōkūao Pellegrino, Nohoʻana Farm + Sustainability & ʻĀina-Based Learning Designer & Facilitator of Kamehameha Schools (WATCH)
- May 19: SDG/ Park Maui deliver wayfinding mockups to STBA as an additional guide for Wooden Wave artwork design
- May 22: Community consultation with Scott Fisher of Hawai'i Land Trust (WATCH)
- May 24: Design concepts deadline
- May 29: Projected design approval deadline
- Jun 5: Begin prep work at Wailuku Garage/ official "Day 1"!
- Jun 8: Waihe'e Coastal Dunes and Wetlands Refuge huakaʻi with Hawaiʻi Land Trust Chief Conservation Officer Scott Fisher, Ph.D
- TBD: Artist meet & greet event in Wailuku Town
- Jul 5: Installation complete
