"Pala" is the Polynesian (Hawai’ian word) for "print" or "stamp". "PalaPala" is this action repeated over and over, a many-layered and multi-patterned process that was used throughout Polynesia in the making and beating of tapa cloth. At the time, it was the name of my fledgling clothing company (1979–1989, later Baba Designs), that incorporated silk-screen and hand-painted designs on t-shirts and dresses.
My thesis exhibition in Art and Ethnography at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa (1982), included 5 hanging hand-painted textiles based on ancient Hawaiian tapa cloth motifs. The designs were in turn originally inspired by natural forms, such as the sea urchin pattern or the snake pattern. These formal elements were then worked into corresponding paintings, depicting the figure in an action relating to the design. There are two or three of the paintings with textiles in existence. The classic Missionary muu-muu (long dress), still worn in Hawai’i, inspired "Dress" (1983) made of a hand-stamped tapa pattern created from wood block prints I cut, and printed on handiwipes; contemporary kitsch mimicking ancient tapa cloth. PalaPala is also the adaption of the western name "Barbara", into the Hawai’ian language.
Hanging Hand-Painted Textiles
