PŌ’ELE WAI (DARK WATER / AS THE WATER DARKENS)

A weaver, Kunawai, is approached by a friend regarding an unusual rash on her body, but she continues to go about her daily routine working as a house cleaner. After becoming transfixed by a mysterious painting she finds at a client’s house, she is plagued with strange visions of the land, and of being underwater. She learns the painting is related to a Hawaiian creation story after tracking down the painter. Kunawai continues to have haunting visions that may be real or imagined, and her rash worsens. While taking a shower, toxins from the water enter her system, and she discovers the watersheds on the island have been poisoned. She goes through a metamorphosis as her body experiences the pain and trauma of the ‘āina (the land) and the water itself.