Kai 海 Hai

A.A.G. is a transpacific deity born from submarine fiber optic cables, and the desire for human connection across the Pacific Ocean. Manifested as a goddexx, A.A.G. is a hybrid of the organic and the inorganic, brought forth from the interconnection of geographies, machines, physical undersea infrastructure, and the deep sea creatures that grow on it’s metal piping. Representing non-linear pathways of communication streams across the ocean, of both histories and future destinations, they can appear in many places and times at once, enabling the flow of the internet across the world. Here we see them surfaced at a cable landing in Hong Kong. In the dialogue playing in the background, A.A.G. has brought together two oceanic deities across the Pacific ocean: Mazu 妈祖  (a Chinese sea goddess, spoken by Qianqian Ye) and Hina opuhala ko’a (a Hawaiian goddess of coral reefs, spoken by Tiare Ribeaux). We hear all three in conversation as they confer about the state of humanity and the growth of technology over the past 1000 years. 

A.A.G. stands for the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable system that has landing points in California, Keawaula, Hawai’i, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, as well as Guam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The acronym as an utterance brings to mind a primordial state of being.

“Nakili” is a collaborative Augmented Reality sculpture co-designed by Tiare Ribeaux and Qianqian Ye. Nakili draws inspiration from the living deity Hina 'opuhala ko'a, goddess of corals and spiny creatures in the ocean. One of the many forms of the goddess Hina, (“Hina of the Coral Stomach”), a shell from her reef was fashioned by Maui, which he used to draw together the Hawaiian Islands. On Nakili’s body are many coral forms found near the shores of the Hawaiian islands of which support vast amounts of marine life, but are at risk and facing bleaching due to ocean temperature rise, global warming, and the toxins found in many sunscreens worn by visitors to the islands. Nakili positions the corals above water, merging it with a human-like figure, to remind us of our interconnection to it and to all living creatures in the ocean, of which the Kanaka Maoli are descended from (according to the Kumulipo creation chant). 

Nakili is part of a larger series of augmented reality installations called “Kai-Hai” - utilizing transpacific stories, oral histories and folklore from Hawai’i throughout Polynesia to East Asia - to explore environmental issues, Kanaka Maoli and other indigenous narratives, migratory paths, immigrant narratives and diaspora across the ocean.

Nakili means: to glimmer through, as light through a small opening; to begin to open, as eyes of a young animal; to twinkle. (via Nā Puke Wehewehe - ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi)

In this video for Kai 海 Hai, a dialogue spoken by Qianqian Ye and Tiare Ribeaux narrates a transpacific myth that follows two oceanic deities (Hina opuhala ko'a and Mazu) from different sides of the world. They meet an unnamed creature from the depths, and while deliberating it’s origin, confer about the state of humanity and the growth of technology across the ocean over the past 1000 years.


Kai 海 Hai (a hybrid of ‘Ocean’ in ʻŌlelo Hawai'i and Chinese) is a series of virtual and augmented reality installations utilize transpacific stories, oral histories, myth and folklore from Polynesia to East Asia - to explore environmental issues, indigenous and immigrant stories, migratory paths, and diaspora across the Pacific Ocean.
It’s a collaboration between Kānaka Maoli artist and filmmaker Tiare Ribeaux (from Honolulu based in the Bay Area) and Chinese artist and technologist Qianqian Ye (from Wenzhou based in LA). Mapping the ocean surface between Wenzhou, Honolulu, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles, this project remixes the ancestral, personal, and speculative stories about the Pacific Ocean.