Political and Social Comments
Today, Filipino-Americans are the third-largest Asian-American group in the U.S. Yet, stories about our national history and immigration to this country are rarely heard, and when they are, they are often misunderstood or underappreciated in their distinct political and human contexts. It is this awareness of the lack of conversation in the cultural landscape that prompted me to create a visual narrative and commentary on the Filipino experience.
The story begins with two concise overviews of the major colonial influences in the Philippines—Spanish rule for more than three centuries, and American control for half a century—and how these periods have shaped native culture. One piece, Manila Village, addresses a little-known historical fact: Filipinos were living in Louisiana as early as 1763, and possibly earlier. After escaping Spanish galleon ships in Mexico, they made their way to the bayous of Louisiana.
Following the official American colonization of the Philippines, there was large-scale immigration of Filipinos to the United States. Cheap labor was needed to fill the gap left by the moratorium on Chinese labor imports. The first wave of immigrants was predominantly male, recruited by labor contractors to work on Hawaiian pineapple and sugar plantations, agricultural fields on the West Coast, and in gold mines and fish canneries in Alaska. Several paintings in this collection explore the experiences of these workers, based on various historical sources.
The piece Pinoy presents an encapsulated portrayal of the Filipino identity, using the informal term "Pinoy" to highlight the wide range of racial characteristics that make up the ethnic group, as well as the various objects and artifacts associated with them. Kulang Pa (2009) offers an ironic take on the infamous 3,000 pairs of shoes that Imelda Marcos was said to have owned during the rule of her and her husband in the impoverished nation.
This collection is part of an ongoing project titled Telling Our Story, which aims to offer a comprehensive narrative. I chose to work in a shorthand, accessible style of storytelling, juxtaposing graphic, painterly, and collage techniques to create a hybridized stylistic mélange. I believe this approach reflects the transformed culture of the Filipino people, shaped by centuries of diverse and pervasive colonial influences on native society.
The story begins with two concise overviews of the major colonial influences in the Philippines—Spanish rule for more than three centuries, and American control for half a century—and how these periods have shaped native culture. One piece, Manila Village, addresses a little-known historical fact: Filipinos were living in Louisiana as early as 1763, and possibly earlier. After escaping Spanish galleon ships in Mexico, they made their way to the bayous of Louisiana.
Following the official American colonization of the Philippines, there was large-scale immigration of Filipinos to the United States. Cheap labor was needed to fill the gap left by the moratorium on Chinese labor imports. The first wave of immigrants was predominantly male, recruited by labor contractors to work on Hawaiian pineapple and sugar plantations, agricultural fields on the West Coast, and in gold mines and fish canneries in Alaska. Several paintings in this collection explore the experiences of these workers, based on various historical sources.
The piece Pinoy presents an encapsulated portrayal of the Filipino identity, using the informal term "Pinoy" to highlight the wide range of racial characteristics that make up the ethnic group, as well as the various objects and artifacts associated with them. Kulang Pa (2009) offers an ironic take on the infamous 3,000 pairs of shoes that Imelda Marcos was said to have owned during the rule of her and her husband in the impoverished nation.
This collection is part of an ongoing project titled Telling Our Story, which aims to offer a comprehensive narrative. I chose to work in a shorthand, accessible style of storytelling, juxtaposing graphic, painterly, and collage techniques to create a hybridized stylistic mélange. I believe this approach reflects the transformed culture of the Filipino people, shaped by centuries of diverse and pervasive colonial influences on native society.