Art at Thomas Square

Art at Thomas Square is part of the city’s vision to beautify Thomas Square Park and engage the public with thought-provoking artwork recognizing the significance of the park’s history.

Art Thomas Square was dedicated on December 30, 2020 as a space for contemporary art installations by O‘ahu-based artists to reevaluate the present and ruminate on the future. Temporary sculptures remain on view at Thomas Square for approximately one and half years.

The current rotation includes sculptures by Kamran Samimi and Kat Kazlauskas.

Thomas Square Sculptures

Recollection (2022) by Kamran Samimi

On view now through 2024

Carved from discarded lumber from Ward Warehouse, Recollection celebrates the wood’s passage through time and space. Samimi carved and shaped each piece of lumber to enhance the wood’s formal and sculptural qualities, but also to reveal a living essence that lives within the wood. Each beam has been reanimated, bearing marks of its process and rebirth. Together they honor the origins of their materiality, as well as the complex histories of their new residence at Thomas Square Park.

Adventitious Roots (2022) by Kat Kazlauskas

On view now through 2024

Hawaiʻi is vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change, urbanization, militarization, and tourism. This sculpture, made of materials intercepted from the waste stream, is inspired by the symbolic forms of the pūhala (pandanus tree) that represent a sustainable and resilient future. At night the sculpture lights up through solar powered LED to transform into a glowing beacon.

Previously on view at Art at Thomas Square 2020-2022

Ho‘okumu—Moana (The Source—The Deep Ocean) Bernice Akamine 2020

Ho‘okumu refers to the source of water starting from a single raindrop drawn from the mist and clouds in the mountains that flows downward and becomes part of the Moana, the ocean. Using stainless steel wire and one of the oldest styles of net-making, Ho‘okumu—Moana illustrates this first droplet as light and airy. Small crystals are woven on the top sphere representing a navigational tool and recognizing the importance of celestial navigation and connection with the Moana.

16 Cube Truss (About Building Systems) Sean Connelly 2020

Sean Connelly’s sculpture is a prototype for modern architecture with interlocking squares held together by the indigenous technology of lashing inspired by traditional cordage used on Hawaiian wa‘a, or canoes. The work, made of wood constructed by Ian Eichelberger with lashings installed by Hawaiian artist Kupihea, is presented as a testimony for justice-advancing architecture in Honolulu and creates a moment to observe the technology of lashing used structurally in a common building system or framework.