We took Hoa Hakananai’a as our object of focus on Day 2 of The Small Museum. We were really fascinated by his original setting, he would have been buried up to the shoulders (for a while we had him in a make-shift housing) and would have been listening to the constant sound of waves crashing on the rocks of Easter Island.
Luke found a sound file of waves crashing on Easter Island, and Tom recorded the ambient noise that Hoa hears now he is in Room 24 of the British Museum. And using NFC stickers you could play the two different recordings.
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Interesting…
Hoa Hakananai’a would have stood with other giant stone companions, their backs to the sea, keeping watch over Easter island.
What do the waves at Easter Island sound like?
Cybergenic made this recording and published it on Freesound under a Creative Commons 0 License in 2011.
The view from Orongo, where Hoa Hakananai’a stood, out to sea. Picture taken January 2004, published on Wikipedia by American, licensed as CC BY-SA 3.0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orongo#/media/File:Orongomotus.jpg
Location
From Easter Island, Polynesia, probably made in Rano Kao, and found in Orongo
Currently displayed in Room 24, Ground Floor, British Museum
Dates
Created in about 1200 AD
Acquired by the British Museum in 1869
Materials
Stone, coral and basalt
Dimensions
Height: 2.42 m
Width: 96 cm
Diameter: 47 cm
More information
British Museum’s Highlights page
British Museum’s Collections Online page
Post on 70s Sci-Fi Art Tumblr
Label text
3D print
Image credits
Top two images © Trustees of the British Museum
Let us know if you spot any clangers.
The Small Museum 
Waves at Isla De Pascua – 2011
The sound of waves that Hoa Hakananai’a would have heard for 800 years at Orongo.
Recorded by the always wonderful cybergenic and kindly made available under a Creative Commons 0 License.
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“Orongomotus” by American at the German language Wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
The view from Orongo where Hoa Hakananai’a lived.
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A Spanish map of the island from 1770, 100 years before Hoa Hakananai’a was removed in 1868.
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