Soldered brass, 16 x 12 x 12, 2010.
Hale Pahu i’a (2010) is a dense, architectural tabletop assemblage in soldered brass that constructs a vibrant marine shrine. Taking its title from Hawaiian—translating to “House of the Aquarium”—the work arranges an array of brass hardware and decorative marine castings into an enclosed vertical structure. At its base, a cast crab rests within an undersea grotto surrounded by shells and coral reliefs, while dolphins leap and arc dramatically across the upper frame. Low-relief panels of scalar sea life and angelfish enclose the sides and rear, transforming found decorative hardware into a miniature aquatic sanctuary.
Finished in a rich verdigris-green patina with dark, oxidized undertones, the sculpture evokes brass artifacts submerged underwater or reclaimed from the sea floor. A projecting brass handle on the side panel retains a subtle memory of functional cabinet hardware, now repurposed into a component of a sacral architectural box. Through its dynamic layering of leaping contours, deep voids, and relief surfaces, Hale Pahu i’a bridges kitsch marine imagery with formal abstract assemblage, creating an intricate monument to oceanic life.
