Nonutopia
2021 | South Haven Center for the Arts; ARC Gallery; Buckham Gallery | USA
Materials: Handmade paper (dry pigment, palm leaves, watermelon seeds, tapioca balls, abaca, Philippine gampi, muslin, cogon grass, dried banana leaves, fresh banana leaves), printed image, crocheted yarn on canvas
Dimensions: 4 ft x 6 ft
Date: 2021
Exhibited in: South Haven Center for the Arts; ARC Gallery; Buckham Gallery
I treat paper as a carrier of culture in the tactile work, Nonutopia. The layers of paper, made from abaca, gampi, and cogon grass, serve as metaphors for the layers of the artist’s cultural and ethnic identity. Embedded within, beneath, and over fragments of paper are watermelon seeds, tapioca balls, crocheted yarn, banana leaves, palm leaves, and printed images, among other objects significant to my everyday life.