Pamilya - March 12th, 1922, in memory of the artist's grandmother, Fidela “Nanay Dela” Raqueño Gregorio, who was born on this day

2022 | MSU Broad Art Museum | USA

The Pamilya series imagines what it would be like to share stories with loved ones over dinner when external circumstances make gathering together nearly impossible. Sourcing from recorded interviews with my family members in the Philippines and California about their experiences of diaspora, I animate a vacant dining table through sculptural casts, video projection, and sound.

This piece titled Pamilya - March 12th, 1922, in memory of the artist's grandmother, Fidela “Nanay Dela” Raqueño Gregorio, who was born on this day looks at Filipino diaspora through a cross-generational lens. It shares the migration stories of different mother figures in my family.  It hones in on the influence of my maternal grandmother who was among the first in the family to step foot in the U.S.

“‘She’s my mom, and she’s also my dad… I learned everything from my Nanay Dela.’ Members of a Filipino family reminisce over their late matriarch, Fidela ‘Nanay Dela’ Raqueño Gregorio, as they share a meal together. We hear their conversation wash over a tableau of their dinner: paper that has printed and cut out to mimic banana leaves cover a table, and spilling over it is a massive spread of Jufran banana ketchup and soy sauce, dragon fruit and jackfruit, empanadas and lumpia, a lucky cat statue, and a small Mother Mary. These objects have been cast in resin and paper clay and are garishly painted in a bright neon, the same shade as a cinematic green screen. Five white paper clay plates are set at the table, and projected over each plate is video footage of a different Filipino dish— iconic dishes from kare-kare to adobo— diminishing over time as it is eaten; hands and forks appear in the frame, as evidence of a meal enjoyed. It is a spectacular, beautiful rendition of a mundane dinner, preserving a fleeting moment of connection forever….and yet.” — Thea Quiray Tagle

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