{"title":"Apo Aquino - Contemporary Hawaiian ʻUpena Maker","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApolonio “Apo” Kalani Aquino Sr. was born and raised in Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island of Hawaii. He first learned the art of net making at age 7–taught by his father. In the last 20 years he has primarily made functional fishing nets (upena) for local fisherman. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eApo also enjoys creating upena art pieces from cordage; he gets his inspiration thinking about his ancestors before him. He finds creating art pieces is a way that he can perpetuate his Hawaiian culture while still having a deep connection to his past.  You can find Apo teaching upena weaving and sharing his Hawaiian culture at his studio, the Kona Town Hui, in Kailua-Kona. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTo learn more about his work, visit his website at \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.konatownhui.com\/hawaiian-culture\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003eKonaTownHui.com\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"kukui-ekahi-by-apo-aquino","title":"Kukui ʻEkahi by Apo Aquino","description":"\u003cp\u003eCotton cordage, kukui bark dye, and obsidian clay\u003cbr\u003e8' h x 16' diameter\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKukui is the Hawaiian word for light and ‘Ekahi (#1) represents my first large cordage art piece made outside of the functional upena style of today.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn ancient times Hawaiians used the the fruit (nuts) of the kukui tree to make an oil to burn for light.  The kukui trees leaves, flowers, wood, and fruit was also used for many other purposes, including medicinal and dying. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis upena is made with cotton cordage. The bark of the Kukui tree was used to dye the netting. And for the black weights I used obsidian clay. I shaped the pieces to resemble round lava rocks. Then they were fired in a kiln at a high temperature for over 16 hours to obtain its black color.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Apo Aquino","offers":[{"title":"96\" h x 96\" w","offer_id":45919352979655,"sku":null,"price":10000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0259\/5930\/1204\/files\/IMG_0103.jpg?v=1764899805"},{"product_id":"polu-ekolu-by-apo-aquino","title":"Polū ʻEkolu by Apo Aquino","description":"\u003cp\u003eCotton cordage, wild indigo dye, and obsidian clay\u003cbr\u003e6' h x 12' diameter\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis piece was inspired by the beauty of our polū (blue) Pacific Ocean. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe netting is made with cotton cordage tied together with many knots which forms diamond shaped maka (eyes) and patterns. At the bottom, the round weights are made from obsidian clay that were handmade with the texture of lava stone. And finally the color comes from wild indigo leaves that were picked from the ahupuaʻa of Kalaoa makai, on the Island of Hawaii, in the district of Kona.  Indigo was brought to Hawaii around 1836. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Apo Aquino","offers":[{"title":"72\" h x 72\" w","offer_id":45919350325447,"sku":null,"price":7500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0259\/5930\/1204\/files\/IMG_0106_0a2fb8e7-1b4e-4bd8-bf7f-a43e5ba9b81c.jpg?v=1764899623"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0259\/5930\/1204\/collections\/IMG_0106.jpg?v=1764898894","url":"https:\/\/tiffanysartagency.com\/collections\/apo-aquino-contemporary-hawaiian-upena-maker.oembed","provider":"Tiffany's Art Agency","version":"1.0","type":"link"}