Mga Tira / All that’s Left over, 2021

Installed at Urban Arts Space as part of Ohio State’s BFA show, Mga Tira / All That’s Left Over explores the erasure of pre-colonial cultures after centuries of imperialism.

Learning colonial history through the western lens, I was never aware of the extent of violence and erasure Filipinos had endured under American rule. I was never aware that the impacts of this colonial history is still apparent in the Philippines today, whether it be in the colorism that dictates beauty and status or the growing export of labor.

Having been born in the Philippines and raised in the United States, my work explores ethnic identity and criticizes the effects of western colonialism on the Philippines and its diaspora. I combine printmaking and painting with craft forms like beading, embroidery, and rug tufting. Combining these art forms result in labor-intensive, highly textured paintings. These laborious processes reflect the centuries of pre-colonial people carefully crafting their culture. Despite all the effort in creating these paintings, they are covered in white paint. Most of the dyed fabrics, embroidered beads, and printed objects are unrecoverable.