A new exhibit exploring the color of red in landscapes and artworks of Oceania will open to the public at Bishop Museum this Saturday.
The exhibit “Ka ‘Ula Wena: Oceanic Red” takes museumgoers on a tour through a dark room guided by red lighting.
The artworks on display range from cultural artifacts to contemporary art.
One item with the color red is the toluk, a shallow tray made of molded turtle shells used by prestigious Palauan women. It symbolizes wealth and was exchanged with gifts.
Marques Hanalei Marzan, Bishop Museum’s cultural advisor, said the exhibit intends to honor Pacific Islander stories and cultures.
"The color red has a strong tie to the Pacific, particularly in Polynesia,” he said. “The color red has association with chiefly status, familial lines, generations. But in other parts of the Pacific, it has different connotations and different meanings."
“So we really wanted to use that starting point of the color red to really engage with the different stories and traditions and practices of the Pacific and really highlight and celebrate the people of the Pacific through the color,” he continued.
The exhibit will be on display from May 25 to Jan. 12, 2025.
