Between Worlds
Rooted in ‘Ōlelo No‘eau #2125: Malia paha he iki ‘unu, pa‘a ka pōhaku nui ‘a‘ole e ka‘a [Perhaps it is the small stone that can keep the big rock from rolling down]
In June 2025, Maui Public Art Corps produced three large-scale murals at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College in collaboration with the County of Maui through our Hui Moʻolelo program. Each mural is grounded in a story collected from the community. These murals are not just for the public, they are by the public. Each work was designed through a collaborative process including community consultations, storytelling sessions, study of ‘Ōlelo No‘eau, and public workshops to help refine the artists' initial concepts into communally imagined artworks.
Nicolita Garces & Ashley Ancheta Galacgac
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Anuhea Yagi, Baby Luana, and Uncle Hōaka Delos Reyes
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Jay Gilleard’s mural is a profound testament to years of shared listening, courage, and cultural care. Rooted in two Hui Mo‘olelo story-collecting efforts from 2022 and 2025, storytellers Nicolita Garces (Archivist & Librarian), Ashley Ancheta Galacgac (Engagement & Operations Manager, Hawai‘i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations), Hōaka Delos Reyes (expert in kālai pōhaku stone carving), and Anuhea Yagi (Student of Hawaiian Life Ways) offered their time, trust, and mo‘olelo to shape the mural’s heart. In 2025, professional artists from around the world submitted proposals to interpret these stories as works of public art. Upon selection by a community panel, Jay entered a period of project development, working to infuse their proposal with the history, culture, and sense of place of Kahului — ultimately resulting in a freely accessible mural created through deep community engagement.
Gatherings such as a huakaʻi to Hoaloha Park with Iokepa Naeʻole to acknowledge the Kanaloa Ahu that features a stone brought from Waihe‘e by the late Kumu Keli‘i Tauʻa as well as a plant medicine workshop led by Namea Hoshino and Nicolita Garces from the Lāhainā and Lei Pua ʻAla cohorts wove ancestral wisdom into the visual narrative. At the mural’s center, the face of a māhū — traditionally recognized in Hawaiian culture as one who embodies both male and female spirit and is honored as a teacher and healer, reminds us that this is not Jay’s gift alone, but a collective offering: a living mosaic guided by storytellers, cultural stewards, campus leadership, and organizers. In honoring these stories, we remember that public art is not a product—it is a process of becoming, together.
Listen to the stories that inspired this artwork:
Gatherings such as a huakaʻi to Hoaloha Park with Iokepa Naeʻole to acknowledge the Kanaloa Ahu that features a stone brought from Waihe‘e by the late Kumu Keli‘i Tauʻa as well as a plant medicine workshop led by Namea Hoshino and Nicolita Garces from the Lāhainā and Lei Pua ʻAla cohorts wove ancestral wisdom into the visual narrative. At the mural’s center, the face of a māhū — traditionally recognized in Hawaiian culture as one who embodies both male and female spirit and is honored as a teacher and healer, reminds us that this is not Jay’s gift alone, but a collective offering: a living mosaic guided by storytellers, cultural stewards, campus leadership, and organizers. In honoring these stories, we remember that public art is not a product—it is a process of becoming, together.
Listen to the stories that inspired this artwork:
Artist Statement
This mural honors the sacred role of the Hawaiian māhū—keepers of balance, healers between worlds. I painted a carved stone figure resting in the land, embodying the strength and spirit of gender-diverse ancestors. In Hawaiian tradition, stone holds mana, a living force—a witness to memory, prayer, and presence. Surrounding this figure, the landscape hums with the quiet power of plant medicine, inspired by both Hawaiian and Filipino healing traditions. These ancient practices, guided by queer and trans healers, remind us that the earth has always known who we are. At a time when trans lives are under attack, this mural is both a refuge and a declaration: we are still here, sacred and seen, rooted and rising. At a time when trans and nonbinary communities are facing increased political oppression and the erosion of basic human rights across the United States and the world, this mural is both a celebration and a call to action. It is a reminder of the deep, indigenous histories of gender diversity that have existed long before colonization—and a recognition of the strength of trans people today. This mural is an offering—for healing, remembrance, and resistance. It is a space where spirit, land, and legacy meet.
Proposal Excerpt
The exploration of trans existence through history is a reoccurring theme in my portfolio, especially in relation to ancient cultures and the deities that embody gender fluidity. This approach challenges the idea that gender diversity is a new or Western phenomenon, instead showing that it’s part of the very fabric of human history.
Training to carve/sculpt stone set the tone for my latest body of work where figures/faces are chiseled in the studio and then used as reference materials for paintings in a half worked state. The rough edges translate perfectly into cliffs/ landscapes, otherworldly faces being part of the land, buried in the layers underneath or sometimes bursting out of the walls. This provides the perfect framework for collaborative approach with local communities as they are able to contribute ideas of important/significant landmarks that can be integrated conceptually. Stone as both a literal material and a metaphor is incredibly fitting for exploring the concept of permanence, memory, and history—like a vessel for holding stories across time. The connection between petroglyphs and graffiti is especially poignant because it ties together the ancient act of marking stone with contemporary forms of self-expression, blurring the lines between past and present. It suggests that the impulse to record our existence, our identities, and our experiences is timeless.
The interview with Nicolita resonated on a multitude of levels, firstly the relationship between queer identity and isolation, how that can contribute to a greater connection with nature through solitude, observations that can occur from large stretches of time alone. Their experience of being a lone Wolfe or 'weird' one in the family leading them to a place where home is internal meditation and earth and universe are ancestors. I am particularly excited by third gender connectivity to healers.
My idea is to create a carved stone head of a gender ambiguous Mahu or third gender person which would be integrated into a Maui landscape of significance. A great way of including direct conceptual contribution is through a more hands-on petroglyph workshop, recently I worked with a community of social care students to look at mark making/ancient graffiti. Using air drying clay each young person created symbolism inspired by their lived experience, hopes, messages for the future. I took high resolution photos so that the messages could be painted as if carved into the stone elements of the piece. This could be a multi day drop in to connect with the local community to create individual tiles which can be taken home.
Training to carve/sculpt stone set the tone for my latest body of work where figures/faces are chiseled in the studio and then used as reference materials for paintings in a half worked state. The rough edges translate perfectly into cliffs/ landscapes, otherworldly faces being part of the land, buried in the layers underneath or sometimes bursting out of the walls. This provides the perfect framework for collaborative approach with local communities as they are able to contribute ideas of important/significant landmarks that can be integrated conceptually. Stone as both a literal material and a metaphor is incredibly fitting for exploring the concept of permanence, memory, and history—like a vessel for holding stories across time. The connection between petroglyphs and graffiti is especially poignant because it ties together the ancient act of marking stone with contemporary forms of self-expression, blurring the lines between past and present. It suggests that the impulse to record our existence, our identities, and our experiences is timeless.
The interview with Nicolita resonated on a multitude of levels, firstly the relationship between queer identity and isolation, how that can contribute to a greater connection with nature through solitude, observations that can occur from large stretches of time alone. Their experience of being a lone Wolfe or 'weird' one in the family leading them to a place where home is internal meditation and earth and universe are ancestors. I am particularly excited by third gender connectivity to healers.
My idea is to create a carved stone head of a gender ambiguous Mahu or third gender person which would be integrated into a Maui landscape of significance. A great way of including direct conceptual contribution is through a more hands-on petroglyph workshop, recently I worked with a community of social care students to look at mark making/ancient graffiti. Using air drying clay each young person created symbolism inspired by their lived experience, hopes, messages for the future. I took high resolution photos so that the messages could be painted as if carved into the stone elements of the piece. This could be a multi day drop in to connect with the local community to create individual tiles which can be taken home.
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Artist Bio: (Born 1983) in an old Yorkshire mill town UK, Cbloxx (Jay Gilleard) is an internationally acclaimed muralist, painter, and stone sculptor. They became known for co-founding queer street art duo Nomad Clan. Spending 3 years in LA during the pandemic gave rise to their notable return to solo practise, painting a large mural downtown for Unesco’s world art day, as well as artistic residencies in Mexico exploring Mayan history. Cbloxx mural process involves extensive research attuned to localities where the public art will reside, often considering the geology of the land, archeological sites, ancient civilisations, cultural heritage, spirituality & ancestry. A tangled myriad of social justice topics sit at the epicentre of their portfolio, tactfully producing layered public art murals and installations that attempt to reconnect people to their environments.
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Community Consultations
Iokepa Naeole
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Anuhea Yagi
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Jim Doran, Joe Wilson and Lyz Soto
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Nicolita Garces, Ashley Ancheta Galacgac, Anu Yagi and Derek Snyder
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Sissy Lake-Farm
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Project Site
Click for Google map: Solomon @ Ka’a Ike Building; Jay @ Kupaa Building; SEVEN @ Pilina Building
Project Timeline
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Concept Development
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Initial concept submitted with Jay's proposal on 3/26/25.
My idea is to create a carved stone head of a gender ambiguous Mahu or third gender person which would be integrated into a Maui landscape of significance. Training to carve/sculpt stone set the tone for my latest body of work where figures/faces are chiseled in the studio and then used as reference materials for paintings in a half worked state. The rough edges translate perfectly into cliffs/ landscapes, otherworldly faces being part of the land, buried in the layers underneath or sometimes bursting out of the walls. Stone as both a literal material and a metaphor is incredibly fitting for exploring the concept of permanence, memory, and history—like a vessel for holding stories across time. |
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Thank you so much for the chats, feeling revived and grateful for this opportunity! Please find the attached sketch with new additions:
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Please find the attached design i have been working on, its photoshop so room for additions/takeaways, colour tweaks etc. I would use this as a rough reference but imagine this will really come to life on the wall. Maui is the island of the Haleakala Volcano where it is told to pass the vortex of the Heart Chakra, that is our center of love, connectedness, and forgiveness. The (design) is all connected to healing, the stone poi pounder echos the medicinal healing counterpart and stone carving connection, the Kalo plant could also be growing around this - doesn't appear yet but would make a nice addition? Any and all feedback welcome.
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"I keep on seeing like these two female images in my head and they've been like visiting me like the year prior. So like since 2019 and it's like, do the work. I didn't know what the message was until I was like, oh, I can like explore more about plant medicine and that's what happened, you know, like this learning about it because back then it was more using plants to, uh, to, to deal with being isolated or, or like dealing with the fears of like losing your job, you know, not working and, and all of that, losing your job... So my mom, she taught me plant remedies how she was taught. So back then you don't ask questions, you just do it like, why is this good for you? And one of my main WHY questions was... is there anything for like the emotions, like dealing with the heart, you know, grief. And my mom didn't have an answer for that... I feel like I'm terrible at languages. I'm a lone wolf, but for me to connect to my ancestors is through plants and plants are also our ancestors. They came before humans." --- Excerpt from Nicolita Garces & Ashley Ancheta Galacgac recording