Uhi Tattoos

April-May 2023

Description of Project

Uhi tattoos are traditional Hawai'ian tapping tattoos, which have a deep and complex meanings given the history of colonialism and repression of traditional cultures on the island. In Tattooing the World, Juniper Ellis highlights how such traditional tattoos may represent anything from a boy’s coming-of-age, to a mark of grief, or to a symbol of shame if left uncompleted. Despite attempted erasure by missionaries, tattoos have been a prominent facet of Hawai'ian identity, with a sort of renaissance reviving the art form in the 1980s. This shows the prominence of the art form on the islands, as people continued to seek it out even after it was pronounced “dead” by the colonizers.

Here, we wanted to learn more about these tattoos, the process of getting them, and their meanings by interviewing Keone Nunes, one of the tattoo artists responsible for the practice's revival.

Methodology

It was interesting to us to think about the stories behind these people's tattoos, as well as the process of getting them. We went to Honolulu, Oahu to interview artists, particularly Keone Nunes who was one of the artists responsible for reviving the practice. We asked questions that will enlighten us about the impact and reasoning behind these tattoos. By gaining these perspectives, we are then able to analyze how these tattoos might represent a changing (or not) cultural landscape of Hawai'i and how these tattoos represent a history still alive despite the U.S.’s colonization of the islands. We chose to create a short podcast where we introduce our project and then include interviews with artists to get insight from a first-person view. Recording artists’ voices will be more powerful and impactful because listeners will know where the information is coming from.

Findings

From talking to the tattoo artists, we were able to learn about the process of tattooing, its meanings, and much more. We learned more than we had expected. For instance, discussions around gender and tattooing, differing cultural tattoos, commercialism of the tattoos, mentorship, and more. Talking to Keone Nunes, in particular, was enlightening because he has taught many other artists throughout his career and has developed and changed his practice since. By visiting another artist's home and studio, we were also able to learn about the varying perspective of artists.

Personal Impact

This project is significant for us because it helps us analyze the various reasons why people would get tattoos and how the imposition of Western ideals has affected a place with deep ties to American colonization. It would help us personally contextualize our own tattoos, which we get as mostly decorative. It would help us think more about tattoo culture as an expression of cultural identity rather than as a method of personal taste.

Next Steps

For this project, our next steps are potentially talking to more artists and finding more opinions. But the next steps are largely what we, as listeners, do with this information. How do we, as residents of the West and colonial nations, perceive our tattoos and those of other cultures? What are methods of unlearning which we might use to gain a greater respect and knowing for other cultural practices, even beyond tattooing? Through analyzing these tattoos, we are able to see the effects of colonialism on Hawai'ian art and culture and how recent artists are reviving pre-colonial pride in their work.