Nikila Badua Interview
WOMXN | NATURE Stories of Rematriation
Nikila Badua was born on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. Nikila is a self-taught multimedia community artist, designer, and performer, inspired by an earth-based wisdom of Roots and Culture. A Mother and community organizer, and youth advocate, she focuses on educational reform, decolonization, indigenous, and environmental rights and activism. Coming from the cultural richness of both pacific Islander and First Nations lineages. Nikila goes by the art alias "MamaWisdom".
Visit her work: MamaWisdom
OUR INTERVIEW
Stories Of Rematriation Art
The Beauty of the Earth
20X16" (Acrylic on Wood)
Nikila shared with me about her deep connection to the lands and waters of Hawaii, her home, and also the correlations between the beauty of the land and the beauty of women. In her work as a visual artist, Nikila works primarily with cultural and archetypal representations of women and the Earth. I wanted to portray her framed with the waters and land of Hawaii.
Some quotes from our interview:
"I see ecofeminism as the connection between women and the environment in terms of the feminine archetypes of the environment, and the feminine lens of how we relate to the environment, in the simplest terms. And I don't think you have to be a woman to see through that lens. So what is that feminine lens of how we see and connect to the environment, for me it goes back to the natural beauty, and what it means to caretake that beauty. For me personally, I think when you really connect with the land and the beauty of the land, if you really want to be responsible, it's important that the land that you visit or inhabit you leave more beautiful than you found it, or at least the way that you found it. It's a way of life to caretake your home and the planet."
"If we really want to talk about the healing and protection of the Earth we have to understand that it goes hand in hand with the healing of women and the protection of women. That they are directly connected, so when we see the raping of the Earth we are going to see the raping of our women."
"Moving forward in terms of the future of the planet, and how we are going to work together, as a human race on this planet. I feel this is one of the biggest issues in the world, our ability or inability to work together as a human race, and the damage and devastation we are doing to the planet. And a lot of it comes down to perception, perspective, communication, and respect." ~ Nikila