Born in a capitalist, imperialist country as a second-generation Filipino-American, I struggled with disconnection from my heritage. Struggle with language barriers, Americanization, feeling like an inauthentic Filipino. I wanted to express the turbulence and catharsis of piecing together my fragmented identity.
Playful gradients emulate the essence of a tapestry, a woven blanket made of graphic warps and wefts. Ifugao and Bagobo motifs are interwoven with 90s–2000s Internet webcore aesthetics, creating an eclectic amalgamation that represents the chaos of my modern Filipino-American experience.
The words Walay Tugpahay, digitally cross stitched—using a post-binary typeface called Crozet·t by queer type collective Bye Bye Binary—firmly grounds the piece. Despite the digital decay shredding the tapestry into threads, the dancers chant "We will resist! We will rest! We will rage!"
It is exhausting to exist in a relentless capitalist cesspool that severs my roots, homogenizes my identity, and throws me into the machine and spits me out. I will make mistakes and fall short along the way, but I will continue to push forward with no signs of slowing down.
