Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Ceramic Art Tile
— — the reef's coat of arms.
Not only on a wall.
“Hawaii's state fish, named for a snout like a pig and a grunt to match. Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa lives across the nearshore reefs of all the main Hawaiian islands, usually within snorkeling depth. The face wears a dark mask; the lips are yellow; a thin blue line runs along the brow. The tail is edged in black. The name carried into a 1933 hapa-haole song about a grass shack in Kealakekua, and from there into the wider world. The Hawaii State Legislature made the state-fish designation permanent in 2006, the second time around.
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Ceramic Art Tile, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.
Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.
The place, in three passes.
The humuhumunukunukuapuaa is the state fish of Hawaii, a reef triggerfish (Rhinecanthus rectangulus) native to the Indo-Pacific and common across the nearshore reefs of all eight main Hawaiian Islands. It lives at depths from a few feet down to about 50 feet, holding territory along coral walls and pocket reefs. The Hawaiian name translates roughly to 'triggerfish with a snout like a pig,' a reference to both the squared facial profile and the grunting sound the fish produces through its swim bladder when threatened. The Hawaii State Legislature designated it the official state fish in 1985 under Act 252; that designation lapsed in 1990 and was made permanent in 2006.
The pattern is one of the most distinctive on the reef. A black diagonal bar masks the face from above the eye down to the corner of the mouth; the lips themselves are yellow. A blue line traces the upper edge of the head, and a second yellow band crosses the body just behind the gill. The rear third of the body is pale, finishing in a broad black bar at the base of the tail. Adults reach about 10 inches. Because the fish hangs head-down to feed on small invertebrates and algae, the high-contrast face is what a snorkeler usually sees first. It reads like heraldry against the coral.
Hanauma Bay on Oahu is the most reliable place to see the humuhumu, a fringing reef protected as Hawaii's first Marine Life Conservation District since 1967. The bay caps daily visitors at about 1,400 and closes Mondays and Tuesdays. Molokini Crater off Maui, a half-submerged tuff cone, offers clearer water and the same fish along its inner crescent. Anaehoomalu Bay on the Big Island and Kee Beach on Kauai also hold reliable populations. The fish is non-migratory; it stays close to its home reef and is best seen between mid-morning and early afternoon, when the sun is high enough to light the reef but the trades have not yet stirred the surface.