Nanea Lum

Ulu (ʻŌlelo Hawai'i): “to grow, increase, spread, to protect, to rise”; Kupu: “sprout, offspring, germinate” or a “spirit or supernatural being”. Through video that mixes parallel visual narratives, Ulu Kupu follows a “Labor Hula”, a performance of harvesting plants/materials from the 'āina (land): hala which is used for weaving; wauke, which is used to create kapa or tapa, a textile; and hau which is also used as a textile or decorative fiber. This dance with the materials of the land is further expanded through the performance of a dancer, wearing the materials on their body and dancing in a wahi pana (sacred place) as well as in a grove of hau trees.

A weaver navigates between survival and her connection to the land while a mysterious rash grows on her body. While working as a cleaner, she becomes entranced by a mysterious painting and learns it is inspired by a Hawaiian creation story. As her rash worsens, she realizes her drinking water has been poisoned by fuel leaking into the island’s watersheds, and undergoes a major transformation.