I Ka Leo O Ke Kai Diptych (15/58)

"I Ka Leo O Ke Kai" — in the voice of the sea — a Hawaiian phrase that locates the locus of wisdom and communication in the ocean rather than in books or teachers or mountains. Mayumi Oda's deepening engagement with Hawaiian culture and spirituality during her years living in Hawaii is fully evident in compositions like this, which draw on specific Hawaiian linguistic and spiritual traditions rather than simply using Hawaii as a picturesque backdrop. The ocean speaks: this is one of the fundamental recognitions of Pacific island spirituality, and Oda's diptych gives visual form to this teaching through her characteristic language of goddess figures, flowing water, and the luminous colors of a Pacific seascape.