Honoring Our Ancestors - Submission by Nica Aquino
Title: "Atang: Saan Kayo Nalipatan" (English: "Offering: You Are Not Forgotten")
(part 1 of 2)
(part 1 of 2)
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(part 2 of 2)
Artist Statement:
In June 2016, Rodrigo Duterte became the new president of the Philippines. Since his presidency, he has enforced extrajudicial killings, or a "War on Drugs," resulting in the loss of thousands of innocent Filipinxs across the islands. These laws are meant to exterminate anyone accused of using or selling drugs, whether proof is provided or not.
President Duterte gave the police and vigilantes the green light to kill anyone they suspected of drug activity. On 17th August, 2016, I woke up to a series of texts from one of my siblings, letting me know that our older brother had been followed and killed as a result Duterte's "War on Drugs." A little over the one year anniversary of my brother's transition to the spirit world, I offer this atang to honour his life and the thousands of innocent Filipinxs who have died in this drastic violation of human rights. Included with the atang is an image of the scene where my brother was killed, layered with the text conversation I woke up to with the tragic news. This is displayed on a television monitor to emulate the CCTV footage the image was captured on.
President Duterte gave the police and vigilantes the green light to kill anyone they suspected of drug activity. On 17th August, 2016, I woke up to a series of texts from one of my siblings, letting me know that our older brother had been followed and killed as a result Duterte's "War on Drugs." A little over the one year anniversary of my brother's transition to the spirit world, I offer this atang to honour his life and the thousands of innocent Filipinxs who have died in this drastic violation of human rights. Included with the atang is an image of the scene where my brother was killed, layered with the text conversation I woke up to with the tragic news. This is displayed on a television monitor to emulate the CCTV footage the image was captured on.
Artist Bio:
Nica Aquino is a multidisciplinary artist, analog photographer & educator originally from Los Angeles, California.
Aquino holds a BFA in Photography from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon and an MA in Visual Culture from the School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Her work reveals place, identity, diaspora and the cross-cultural experience through a photographic lens and a variety of mixed medias. Via photography, viewers see through the eyes of a first generation Ilokana-American trying to navigate North American culture and drawing inspiration from the people and places around her, exploring the commonality of diverse immigrant diasporas in the US.
Aquino holds a BFA in Photography from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon and an MA in Visual Culture from the School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Her work reveals place, identity, diaspora and the cross-cultural experience through a photographic lens and a variety of mixed medias. Via photography, viewers see through the eyes of a first generation Ilokana-American trying to navigate North American culture and drawing inspiration from the people and places around her, exploring the commonality of diverse immigrant diasporas in the US.
