ANAK NG LUPANG HINIRANG
2020- ongoing
Anak ng Lupang Hinirang (Child of the Chosen Land) is a series of photographic images that use the body and symbolic objects tied to Filipino national identity to capture a profound and intimate feeling of patriotism and nationalism. As a Filipino national who lives and works in Canada, I am aware of the heavy history of colonization here; this series explores the complicated history of colonization in the Philippines and the way in which this history has infiltrated our national identity. The Philippine flag, the panuelo, reflects the legacy of the Spanish Colonizers. The Crown symbolizes beauty pageants which come from the influence of the American colonizers, reinforcing Western beauty standards. These objects, integrated with the body, pay homage to Filipino national identity and employ the conventions of familiar tropes of this identity to rearticulate and question each icon and the histories it bears. The body performs together with the symbols subverting the object’s standard, patriotic reading. As a result, the images encourage viewers to question the subjects’ origin and the true meaning of the objects they hold.
This project was made possible by the Audain Travel Award Prize. @audainprize
and Shumka Centre for Creative Entrepreneurship @shumkacentre
EXHIBITED //
Me, Myself and I, The Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, August 2024
Fields, Access Gallery, Vancouver, May 2024
Anak ng Lupang Hinirang, Capistrano Building, Union Christian College, San Fernando City, Philippines, June 2023
2024 Pacific Northwest Drawers, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, Oregon, until March 2025
Anak ng Lupang Hinirang, The Lobby, Gordon Smith Gallery, North Vancouver, April 2023
Here and Now, Capture Photography Festival, The Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver, April 2023
International Call, Exposure Festival, Comtemporary Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, February 2023
Iba’t Ibang Anyo, IIsang Kulay, Emily Carr University of Arts + Design, Vancouver, November, 2022
Stranger than FIction, Emily Carr University of Arts + Design, Vancouver, April 2022
