REROOT
Invited by SOMArts, I created a series of work for the Ramp Gallery for March-April 2023.
Every piece is a mixed media self-portait featuring clothing I designed and made. I also created installations with Philippine textiles, organic materials, and personal items.
This series of work discusses the similar search for things to root to, coming from the Filipino Diaspora and from an estranged family history.
How do we root ourselves when being raised away from the motherland? Are there ancestors to root with when unrooted from our own living family? What and who do we find home in to be grounded in + bloom with?
This is my most vulnerable series of work. To have friends and new folx share how these pieces resonated with them and own decolonizing and healing journeys has reassured me that, yes, this is the right path.