Ka Holoku
The holoku is a high-collar, long-sleeved dress that was introduced to the Hawaiian people in the 1820s by missionaries but has since been appropriated into the Hawaiian culture. By photographing the holoku in landscapes of historical and cultural significance, we sought to reveal cultural kaona, or hidden meanings, found within the garment.
This body of work was done in collaboration with fellow artist and photographer Ualani Davis. We photographed with a 8×10 camera and printed each image in the albumen process. Albumen printing was the most popular form of photographic printing from the 1860s to 1890s, coinciding with several decades of extreme change in the Hawaiian islands.