HULA

Sean Yoro (born 1989), known professionally as HULA, is a self-taught contemporary artist, most known for his murals positioned near or in large bodies of water.

He has developed a distinct style merging fine art, street art and nature.

He started his career in 2010 after taking a drawing class at Windward Community College on Oahu.

Shortly after he relocated to Brooklyn, New York working under the alias 'HULA' to pursue fine art.

Prior to pursuing his art career, Yoro planned to work as a lifeguard for the Honolulu City and County Lifeguard.

Midway through his safety training, Yoro changed his mind and pursued his interest in art.

Despite the college drawing courses he took, Yoro credits his success as being self-taught by watching countless hours of YouTube tutorial videos and painted daily.

Watching videos gained him the skills “to prep canvases with Lasso, how to photograph his models and the knowledge to paint from small canvases to 24 foot murals.”

In 2015 HULA became widely known and publicized for his viral iceberg murals, which sparked a larger environmental discussion.

The Hawaiian native has been known for his delicate portraits of half-submerged women’s faces on icebergs across the worlds such as the Arctic Circle and Iceland in order to raise awareness of climate change and the effects on the environment.

Since then, many of his pieces have suggested climate change issues at the root of their message.

HULA’s medium to convey his art was artificial reefs, using concrete and steel in hopes to replicate an environment for marine life to grow.

For this project, HULA made his own materials and eco-friendly pigment sticks.

In the interview Street Artists Learns Freediving to Paint Underwater on Artificial Reefs by Jessica Stewart, HULA stated “Combining both my art and environmental passions happened almost by accident at first, when I started creating murals along ocean walls.

I always had underlying messages of sustainability and awareness, but this was the first concept I could literally combine these two aspects of my life influences into one.

Every project since then has seamlessly integrated both values into their own unique stories naturally”.

HULA’s passion for environmental reform has been noticed by the public, being most notable for painting on icebergs of indigenous local woman to raise awareness of global warming and the effects it has on the native people living near those environments at risk.

HULA exhibits his passion for helping his home state of Hawai’i to protect and help the marine life that has an impact on the islands.

Yoro grew up on the eastside of Oahu.

He spent most of his time surfing, until his late teens when he discovered his passion for graffiti and tattooing.

In 2015 he broke into the street art world, when the release of his water murals became widely publicized.

HULA's work is created while balancing on his stand up paddleboard.

He usually creates his works on the side of shipwrecks, abandoned docks and semi-submerged walls.

Merging his backgrounds in both street and fine art, HULA works primarily with oil paint and uses traditional techniques to create female figures interacting with the surface of the water.

HULA’s work often proposes an environmental discussion.

HULA has worked on collaborations and has been hired by several commercial brands such as The North Face, Vans, Instagram/Facebook and Saks Fifth Avenue.

HULA created a collection titled “Deap Seads” in December 2017, which included three underwater murals, Lumens, Breath, and Buried.

HULA’s inspiration for this project was his advocacy for environmental changes.

Painted underwater in the oceans of Hawaii, HULA spread awareness of the dying coral reef epidemic, affecting the biodiversity and environment worldwide.

In the book, Environmental Law Issues in the South Pacific and the Quests for Sustainable Development and Good Governance by Laurence Cordonnery, he states that Pacific Islanders rely heavily on the biological resources that are needed for economic, social, and cultural well being.

Lawrence also mentions that island environments are the most threatened.

Due to HULA coming from a Pacific Islander ethnicity, it is a drive for him to raise awareness of the disastrous effects that are occurring in his home state and Pacific Islands.

Though HULA isn’t only confined in painting for the Pacific Islands, he has also traveled to several locations where global warming has taken atoll in the environment.

During, his project HULA underwent intense training in order to accomplish his murals by freediving, diving underwater without scuba gear.

In addition, without the help of an oxygen tank, HULA had to hold his breath for a short amount of time before reaching the surface for air.

Under these intense conditions, HULA suffered from an ear drum rupture, consequently delaying his project further.

This mural signifies the importance of how the ocean’s marine life is such a precious gift to humanity and that it needs to be protected.

HULA’s murals, Lumens is portrayed as a woman with her eyes closed and a jellyfish flowing next to her while her hand is raised up beside it.

HULA’s medium to convey his art was artificial reefs, using concrete and steel in hopes to replicate an environment for marine life to grow.

For this project, HULA made his own materials and eco-friendly pigment sticks.