Kamea Hadar x Defer: Paradise Lost

During POW! WOW! Hawaii 2014, artists Kamea Hadar and Defer (K2S) collaborated on a mural that marked the start of a year-long series of collaborative walls, gallery shows and other creative projects between the two artists entitled “Paradise Lost”. The second installment of the series are two large-scale murals in San Francisco and a viewing of canvas pieces at First Amendment Gallery, San Francisco. The show at First Amendment Gallery opens Thursday August 7th, 2014.

Kamea Hadar said this about the series: “Paradise Lost deals with both Defer and my perspectives of Hawaii. With Defer recently moving to Hawaii from his hometown of Los Angeles and my being from Hawaii we both bring two different perspectives of what paradise can be. Much of my recent work deals with fire and the title also alludes to Milton’s epic poem about The Fall of Man, The Temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan, their expulsion from the Garden of Eden and of course Hell. On the surface the title speaks of Hawaii losing its natural beauty and traditional ways, what many people consider “paradise”.”

Kamea continues: “It is also important to stress that in my eyes fire also represents change and that Hawaii’s move into the modern world and urbanization is necessarily all bad. With the benefits of modern technology, and ease of travel Hawaii is quickly transforming from an “island” into a cultural hub. Honolulu as a city is quickly becoming as relevant to contemporary culture as any other big city in the world, but this takes some compromises. The balance between moving forward and still keeping traditions/cultures and preserving paradise are what makes Hawaii an interesting place and what inspired Defer and I to collaborate and create Paradise Lost.”

Kamea and Defer both currently live and work in Hawaii. Kamea is the youngest board member of the Hawaii Arts Alliance, is Co-Lead Director of POW! WOW! and designer/artistic director of Utopium, home of POW! WOW! Hawaii. Defer moved to Hawaii from his hometown of Los Angeles where he was a pioneer member of the first generation of LA graffiti crews K2S, STN, and KGB. He has had a marked influence on the LA graffiti movement since the mid-1980s. His more recent typographic work incorporates Japanese images mixed with his unique hand-style.