Art. Filipinx-American. Bay Area.
EPEKTO ART PROJECTS
All of the Above
“Those who do not know where they come from will never reach their destination.” - Common Filipino proverb
This common Filipino proverb lies within each artist of this exhibit. As artists and people coming from other lands bringing new insights and perspective to society, the assimilation process becomes one of acculturation. So, what does it mean to be other? It means to change. Change consisting of the impermanence of identity and of time - these are the paradigms the artists work within.
“All of the Above” is challenging the assumption of identity in America while expanding the concept what it means to be “Filipino.” This exhibit champions the idea that our nationalism is more of an extension of a global nation where no one need fit neatly into one checked off box, but be comfortable with all the loose pieces that do in fact fit together. It is an exhibition of dreams and reality, limitations and expansions, traditions and contemporary life.
The concept of identity will no longer limit or separate us, but rather as a way to see our connections to each other. Filipinos are a mixture of Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Caucasian, Indian, Negritos, Malay, Hindus, and Muslims. These categories becoming so intertwined that the boundaries begin to disappear, this is the outcome of living in a global society. Where migration becomes an integral part of life. This art exhibition will challenge the assumption of identity, while stretching and adding to the concept of being “Filipino.”
We hail from an island nation of 7,700 islands speaking hundreds of different languages. Traveling as navigators and ship hands on board Spanish Galleon boats in the mid 1700’s, a group ofFilipino’s jumped ship and created a homestead in the Louisiana Bayous. It is during this time that the first Filipinos settled in the United States. Living in a culture today where Asians, including Filipinos are still told to go back where they came from, we ask the question where would that be? Our home is in our heart. We seek to expand the idea of who gets be American in America and who must remain an immigrant.
Over three hundred years later and after several waves of migrations, Filipinos have become a sizeable group in the United States. Yet, to this day still so much is unknown about the Philippines. Having been sold the “Hollywood dream” many Filipinos uprooted and lay claim to form new homes. In creating a new life we take on new clothes, a new language, new friends, all the while carrying old memories. It is an exhibition of dreams, limitations, expansions, traditions, and contemporary life.
Artist Lexygius Calip investigates process and experimentation in his drawings and paintings. While Marcius Noceda’s oil paintings are a “combination of symbolism, mythology, history and unusual events that create a stage like drama with many possible interpretations.” Tosha Albor explores her use of abstraction in combination with illustration using mixed media including household paints. Paolo Mejia works with formalism and tactility of materials in his three-dimensional sculptures. Working in large banner style prints, Mel Vera Cruz creates collages’ that expresses his experiences ofbeing both Filipino and American. The work of Pamela Ybañez explores the history between the Philippines and the U.S. through video.
Exhibiting artists:
Poet: Bonnie Wai-Lee Kwong
Live music: Lendle San Jose & Kulintronica
November 4, 2011 6-9pm
Sears Building pop up space: Hollogram
2633 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, CA