Hawaiki to Hawai’i: A glass exhibition about a time when nature held the power by artist Daniel Moe

January 10th – Feb 15, 2026, Daily 9am -5pm at Volcano Art Center Gallery in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Join Volcano Art center in a journey through time, honoring the experience of the first people who voyaged from Hawaiki (Tahiti) to Hawaiʻi over a thousand years ago. Through blown, sculpted, and hand-carved glass, Daniel Moe explores the rich symbolism and sacred imagery of Polynesian culture—drawing from traditional Marquesan, Samoan, Tahitian, Hawaiian, and Māori designs. Daniel’s work features iconic symbols and forms reminiscent of objects, tools, and vessels essential to early voyagers and settlers: fish hooks that sustained life, poi pounders that shaped community, sailing canoes that braved vast oceans, calabash inspired vessels, and tattoo and kapa inspired designs.  He incorporates representations of revered animals found on the journey, and upon arrival in Hawai’i, such as turtles, birds, sharks, and whales, alongside navigational signs—the stars, sun, ocean swells, and cloud formations—all guiding these wayfinders on their sacred journey to their new place. Additional elements include traditional agricultural staple foods like kalo, that sustained the people and shaped their relationship with the land. Protective/warrior symbols appear, reflecting the balance between survival and spirituality. The tattoo patterns etched into the glass evoke the deeply personal and cultural markings that connect individuals to their ancestry, beliefs in spirit, and the natural world. This collection honors the sacred relationship early Hawaiians held with the land (‘āina), the sea (moana), and the sky (lani)—a time when nature itself was the ultimate source of power and reverence, before the rise of chiefs and kingdoms, and the times of war. Through glass, a medium born of fire and transformation, Daniel seeks to capture the fluidity, strength, and spirituality of this ancestral voyage.