Artist Statement

Photo credit: Nicole Bernard

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I am the great granddaughter of a shaman. Witchcraft, the heartbeat of a tree, a comet in the sky, and the circling of a red-tail hawk, all tracing me back to the deep and mysterious connection I feel flowing through my blood.

My art is a multidisciplinary act of remembrance. A way of seeing, hearing and feeling the way my Filipino ancestors lived in rhythm with the Earth.

Dance is the root — connecting my feet to the rice paddy field plowed by the carabao.

Sound is the seed — planting my voice in the soil where my ancestors sang bridging self, spirit and nature.

Photography is the portal — capturing the messages I summon from those who guide me.

Painting is the harvest — gathering pigment from pine and mugwort, watching it bleed from the tip of a fern frond.

Poetry is the memory — breathing life into the wisdom my ancestors gathered from the echoes of the forest and her creatures.

I create to honor my ancestral lineage. As a Filipino American living in diaspora, I am reminded with every brushstroke, movement and breath, that my ancestors are alive within me. My artistic expression is a channel of their knowledge, love and wisdom.

I am listening

I hear you, ancestors

I see you, ancestors

Your world is not forgotten

I am remembering

Agyamanak, agyamanak, agyamanak

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