ABOUT THE ARTIST

Shane Keliʻi
Valdez

ʻO wau ʻo Shane Keliʻi Valdez. He mea paʻi kiʻi au.

I’m a photographer based in Hawaiʻi. Oʻahu is home & the beginning of Kuahaka. This work starts at the kahakai & moves mauka, through places I grew up loving & places I’m relearning to see. I’m drawn to the changing light, the shape of the shoreline, the clouded mountains & the quieter details that beckon me to slow down.

When I travel, I keep photographing. Those places widen my view, but Hawaiʻi remains my piko.

I pair selected kiʻi with ʻōlelo noʻeau, English translations & my reflections on their lessons. I share these sayings with care: no photograph or short explanation can hold every meaning, history or kaona within them. The pairing is my way of listening, learning & opening a conversation.

I hope you’ll take your time with the kiʻi & moʻolelo paired with them. Maybe a place, a saying, or a lesson will stay with you & find its way into your own imagining of Hawaiʻi.

Me ka haʻahaʻa

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