Gata Galáctica recently came down from Portland this past weekend & I was stoked to see them play live at Gold Diggers in East Hollywood!

If you've never heard their music, definitely check them out. They're the grooviest contemporary Latin-influenced psychedelic band out right now, whose music is very reminiscent of some of my fav chicha sounds out of 1960s South America.

​Bandcamp Friday is coming up this week, so consider supporting them directly & buying their music! Or, at least give them a follow on their Bandcamp or Instagram! It's FREE. 😉

I also got to grab a copy of a 7" they recently pressed — ON COLORED VINYL! 😻 Do you get their art reference below? 😎​​

I'm also feeling incredibly lucky that they let me photograph their set! I know they had so many photographers hit them up, so I'm glad that they let me of all people.

​Considering that they're a psychedelic band, I didn't want to make just any regular photos of them. So, I got a little experimental with the compositions & tried some things I'd never done outside of a studio setting. I used a new speedlight (flash) I just bought recently, a slow shutter speed & incorporated rigorous movement into the photos, like shaking the camera & zooming the lens in & out while the flash froze the colored lights during the longer exposure time.

Not all the photos came out perfect, but that wasn't the goal. I wanted to let go of control a bit & see what the light was capable of painting into the compositions themselves. It was fun getting to play, & what better time to get experimental than with photos for a psychedelic band, I guess? 😅

Photos below were created with a Nikon ZF, a 24-120mm lens, a fractal filter, & a Godox Ving V860III.

Click to enlarge & view from a computer for the full experience!

Last week I got to see Dark Chisme with a very dear friend. This night was so fun & every band gave such an energetic performance. They were all so good & matched each others' energy very well.

I think the best part of this gig in particular was how very POC-forward, especially WOC-led, the line-up was. In a music subgenre that has historically been overwhelmingly white, it was awesome to experience such a diverse group. This is honestly one of my favorite things about living in Los Angeles.

Shoutout to the organisers who put the night together, the homegirl Selene for inviting me, & huge thanks for Christine & E of Dark Chisme for approving me for a photo pass to do photography at the show. I'm looking foward to doing more events like this in the future!

​Here's some of my favorite compositions from Dark Chisme's set! Since the performance was so energetic, I had fun playing with a slow shutter speed in some comps. Photos were created with a Nikon ZF & 24-70mm lens.

For the whole set of photos from the night (including Spike Hellis & Meldamore), visit the tag:​

Lastly, I am trying to hustle my photo work full-time. If you are in need of photography services, please visit my commercial photo website & book a consultation for events, portraiture or lifestyle photography!

Two of my absolute fav compositions from the whole set. The way the light was hitting Christine was perfection. ​🤌🏽

This was my first time seeing Spike Hellis & their set was part music performance & part art installation. I appreciated the extra bells & whistles, like the old CRT TVs playing misc video footage, as well as the surveillance camera, netting & other sculptural elements around the DJ booth.

The lighting was sometimes too dark or a bit intense at times, but it allowed me to do more than just documentation. I was also able to create very artsy-looking compositions that I feel pair well with the overall aesthetic & vibe conveyed in their performance.

Photos were created with a Nikon ZF & 24-70mm lens.

For the whole set of photos from the night (including Dark Chisme & Meldamor), visit the tag:​

These two are some of my fav compositions from the set. I know it's not very clear what's happening or visible, but but I love the shapes & lines the lights are making.

More of my favs!

This one is probably my fav out of the whole set. Even tho the figure may not exactly be clear, there's something truly celestial about the way the light is hitting, with a light in the back drawing attention to the surveillance camera & this idea of being watched from a greater being from above.

The last two weren't sharp, LOL. But I still wanted to include them! There's something painterly about the image on the left & the way the light is creating various layers of colors. And I converted the one of the right to B&W to create a very Xerox-style looking image that looks like it came out of a DIY zine. 

We arrived a little later & just caught Pride Month Barbie at the end of the set. So, I didn't get any photos of them, unfortunately! But we got to enjoy a full set by Meldamor.

It was my first time hearing them & the whole time I kept thinking "The dummer looks like Dave Parley" — it turns out it was! 😅 I had no idea he'd left Prayers & started a music project with his wife.

Her towering figure paired with commanding stage presence made a very memorable performance & was a great introduction to the band. I'm obsessed!

Below are a few of my fav compositions from the show. I created a mix of both B&W and color versions. I was really trying to go for an oldschool aesthetic edit, reminiscent of old DIY band photography. Let me know in the comments if you prefer the color or B&W photos!

Photos were created with a Nikon ZF & 24-70mm lens. No flash in these, because I didn't want to ruin the ambience. I really loved a lot of the shapes & color palettes the lighting was creating, too!

For the whole set of photos from the night (including Dark Chisme & Spike Hellis), visit the tag:

Happiest of birthdays to sweet Thania, a dear old friend, a talented cellist & all around creative spirit.

Thank you for being generous with your time, energy & space with me, & for letting me play with a new lighting setup I just got! Love you mami. ​🖤

Here's a walk through my process below!

​Photos are from my Nikon ZF using a 24-70mm lens.

I didn't particularly LOVE the lighting on these first 3 the most, but it wasn't terrible for a first attempt! I think what I need to do next time is bring an extra light & maybe more lighting modifiers. 😅 I had a softbox on the light, but the diffusion still wasn't enough for my taste! If there were more time & energy, I would have played a little more. But our time was spent more on reconnecting, enjoying food & chisme together, hehe. Time I wouldn't trade for anything else. I knocked out these portraits in about an hour tho & we still had fun!

I was more satisfied with the lighting on these & I love the very subtle gradient on the cello! This was much more to my liking & a lot less dramatic then what I was trying to go for. But I think maybe a little more fill in the shadows would have been nice. All I did was bounce the light onto the ceiling & I loved the result so much. ​😆

However, my absolute favs are these moody photos I converted to B&W!

Can't wait to show you all some new portraits I'll be making sometime this summer. I've been workshopping with a client in the last couple of months & can't wait to help make their vision come true!

I was excited to be invited to Mahjong Sosyal last weekend, organised by my good friend, fellow artist & collaborator Alex J. Cabalu.

Last week I was feeling defeated. I didn't know what to expect at the event, esp since I didn't even know how to play, but even though I didn't win any games, I ended up unexpectedly winning a raffle & it really made my week. I needed that small win to lift my spirits & it really made me feel a bit better. I'm glad I went!

It was cool to see loads of young people interested in playing/learning the game, since I know many associate mahjong as an old ladies' games. But it was also just really cool to see multi-generations & cultures coming together to play & be together on a Saturday!

Here are a few photos from my Nikon ZF made with a 24-70mm lens.

If you made it this far, thank you for checking out my blog! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.

Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my blog posts.

I'm excited to share that DoLA invited me to contribute to their weekly editorial column Local's List, their series where they invite LA locals to share about their favorite local spots.

When they reached out to me, I knew I wanted to share my favorite places in Northeast LA, where we have lived for over a decade. NELA is home now & I can't imagine ever living anywhere else in LA.

​Read the full piece:

Aside from one of the photos (which I did not originally want to include, but we had to make a last minute substitution that would fit the format), all the photography for the piece is original work by me.

I had photography for all of the businesses mentioned, except one — Avenue 33 Farm. If you read the piece, you'll see that the farm is essential to our regular life, so of course I wanted to include them in my recommendations. I reached out to the farm workers & asked if I could take some photos of them for my contribution. The piece itself ended up featuring programming manager, Andrea Oloughlin, but here are some additional photos I took at the farm that didn't make it into the piece!

​Photos are from my Nikon ZF using a 24-70mm lens.

​Gorgeous sunny day shining onto an abundant hillside farm. Peep the baby hummingbird in action!

Photo featured in the piece of programming manager, Andrea Oloughlin.

Some cute photos of distribution manager, Sarah Vargas, among the sage flowers and green bean plants!

Now, it was really difficult to narrow down my choices to just 5, so here are some of my NELA honorable mentions:

Cypress Park:

• ​Cypress Park Branch Library
• 1802 Roasters
• Arvia Projects
• Tierra Caliente

Glassell Park:

• Lutong Bahay

Highland Park:

• La Tierra de la Culebra Park
• Delicias Bakery and Some
• Cali Vibes Records

Eagle Rock:

• Cosmic Vinyl
• Colorado Donuts
• Muddy Paw Coffee

Atwater Village:

• Proof Bakery
• Nova Community Arts
• Record Safari (which was already on another Local's List!)

​​If you made it this far, thank you for checking out my blog. To be honest, there's probably some I forgot, but let me know in the comments what you think of my NELA recs or if you think I missed any!

Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my blog posts.

This was my first indie wrestling show & I had a blast! Most of you don't know this about me, but I love wrestling. Grew up watching oldschool WWF as a kid. Pro wrestling was one of my first introductions to "alternative" style of dressing & music.

This was no ordinary wrestling show. It had so many things that I loved. One, it was at First Street Pool Hall, & most of you also don't know that I love playing pool. Two, punk bands. Some of you might already know that I grew up hanging out in LA's subculture music scenes in the early 2000s. Three, pro wrestling!!! With three things that I really enjoy, this was an event I didn't want to miss.

It felt like being a kid again. It was so cool to be up close to the wrestlers at a DIY wrestling show in the backyard of a pool hall. And what a dream come true to be part of an audience all yelling "holy shit! holy shit! holy shit!" as someone gets gets bashed in the head with a steel chair. 🥴 This was truly oldschool wrestling: costumes, make-up, cheesy gimmicks & acting, steel chairs, trash cans, kendo sticks, blood & maybe even a little CTE. 😅 10/10 I would attend one of these events again.

Now, I'm not equipped for fast-paced action or sports photography, especially not in low light. So, I did the best I could with what I've got. While this is already a very male dominant sport that usually caters to a more male audience, it was interesting to me that there were about a dozen other photographers & videographers & I was the ONLY woman photographer. To be honest, it was uncomfortable getting stares from them. I also wished there were more women wrestlers & bands. Hopefully, this is something the organisers can put together someday. It would be fun to see more women at the front of these events, both as performers & audience members. 😉

Below are some of my photos from the event! I might want to photograph more events like these in the future, so if you like these photos & want to see what I can do if equipped properly, help me buy a new lens & speed light, which will be about a $1000 investment!

I publish & make a lot of work for free & welcome donations if you want to help me work towards some gear upgrades:
​

• Zelle (preferred): [email protected]
• Cash.app $nicaaquino666
• ​paypal.me/nicaaquino
• Venmo @nicaaquino

Photos were made with my Nikon ZF & a 24-70mm lens.

​View from a computer for the full experience!
Click any image below to enlarge.

If you made it this far, thank you for checking out my blog! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.

Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my blog posts.

To be honest, this was my fav match in the show! Felt like it embodied oldschool wrestling the most. It was so much fun to experience. I love a good old-fashioned heel! The match even spilled into the pool hall at one point. Some videos from my YouTube channel are also included below. Make sure to subscribe if you're not already!

Photos were made with my Nikon ZF & a 24-70mm lens.

​View from a computer for the full experience!
Click any image below to enlarge.

If you made it this far, thank you for checking out my blog! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.

Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my blog posts.

Some of my fav compositions from the show came from these sets!

Photos were made with my Nikon ZF & a 24-70mm lens.

​View from a computer for the full experience!
Click any image below to enlarge.

If you made it this far, thank you for checking out my blog! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.

Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my blog posts.

Aside from the library punk show I went to back in December, I haven't gone out of my way to go to a show I wasn't working for years. It was fun to see All Out Attak again, whom I didn't even know were still together! They were a band I grew up watching when I was first growing up in the LA subculture music scenes in the early 2000s. They definitely still held up!

Now, music photography is not really my forte & I'm not really equipped for it, but here's a couple of photos I was able to snap from their set. I was also able to get some video, but unfortunately the audio sounded like shit, so I didn't upload them to my YouTube channel, haha! Next time. I'll have to remember to get some portraits of the audience next time, too.

Photos were made with my Nikon ZF & a 24-70mm lens.

​View from a computer for the full experience!
Click any image below to enlarge.

My fav assignment so far, photographed over 2 days! Shout out to my stellar model, C. ​🖤 Between the styling, set & lighting, I'm so happy with how these came out. Especially given that some of these were photographed during mid-day, which can be so challenging for the natural light, I gained some really valuable practice in how to use mixed lighting & flash for fill light, between a speed light & strobe.

Photos were made with my Nikon ZF, a Fractal prism filter, a Lightpix Labs Flashq Q20ii (speed light) & a portable Profoto strobe. I will indicate which photos used speed light & which used strobe.

​Styling by me. 🌼​

​View from a computer for the full experience!
Click any image below to enlarge.

Played around with a Fractal prism filter for these 2 photos. :)

All photos up until here were photographed with only the speed light.

These 2 photos used both a portable strobe, synced with my speed light via "optical slave" (hate that word, but there hasn't been another industry term made to replace it yet 😕). Wanted to continue using the speed light to create more fill, but with the direct sunlight shining right on it, it had a mind of its own & the sensor that is supposed to detect the flash coming from the strobe just kept going off randomly, or wouldn't go off when I needed it to! I managed to get these 2 shots, but decided to put the speed light away after this. I'll have to research & see about a radio trigger for it next time, but I do know that the trigger that comes with the speed light can sync with multiple units at once via bluetooth. I might have to invest in a second speed light!

​All compositions below are photographed using only the portable strobe.

Rare photo of myself on the left, haha! The assignment required us to also make self-portraits, but I am just not a selfie kind of gal. However, I was comfortable at least getting in front of the camera for one shot if I was with my friend, & we actually really had fun with it! I also played around with a few other compositions, such as shooting through objects, as well as playing with the "freeze" mode on the strobe again to create the blurry effect of the flower petals dropping in the frame. I also got to practice my compositing skills with that one. ​🤠

This photos came out even better than I envisioned, with some of my classmates describing them as a "vibrant fairytale" & giving "Studio Ghibli vibes" — both compliments to the highest degree. ​🥹

If it weren't for time constraints & our energy running low, there's a lot more I would have tried or changed. But for something photographed over 2 days & the amount of compositions I was able to create, I'm still soooooo happy with the results. Somehow I managed to make my friend look like such a movie star! 🤩

​To view the rest of the work I've made during my time at GCC, please visit the tag:

A couple of months ago, I decided to sign up for a commercial photography class at Glendale Community College on a whim! Last semester, I was thinking about taking this class in the spring, but I didn't think it would be possible due to my work schedule at the time. Thankfully they ended up being able to accommodate me & I'm able to take 2 days off a week & work from home, so I can take this class.

Not only are we still honing the skills we learned in strobe lighting last semester, we're learning a whole artillery of new skills in commercial photography, as well as some training in business practices, which I really need! As I'm trying to pivot my "career" goals & come up with back-up plans to make money, or even side gigs, this class has been way more valuable than any photography class I took in art school. 🥲 I wish I got to spend more time in community college first. The experience has felt challenging, but refreshing & supportive.

We've had a number assignments since we've started, but I won't be sharing all of the work I've done. Here's a few of my fav compositions.

Photos were made with my Nikon ZF & GCC's Profoto strobes.

View from a computer for the full experience!
Click any image below to enlarge.

This was for the first assignment for the class! The assignment was really to practice & pay attention to soft vs. hard light & color theory. Since I'm still new at adding lighting to my work, this was a great exercise to start off with! And it was a great way to have me start thinking about how to use color more intentionally in my work.

This assignment was very challenging & it took me all day to troubleshoot because my set had so many items & I decided to make my life harder & choose reflective objects. ​🥴 We practiced some product photography, but we particularly had to incorporate using the "freeze" mode on the Profoto packs to freeze liquid movement in the frame. As challenging as I made this assignment for myself, it was so fun & I was so happy with the results. 

​To view the rest of the work I've made during my time at GCC, please visit the tag:

I'm thrilled to share Mata's newest online exhibition, PIECES OF PINDANGAN.

In spring of 2025, I was invited to participate in Alfredo F. Tadiar Library's Balay da Judge artist residency program. During my month-long residency, I photographed various streets & locations throughout the City of San Fernando, La Union, originally known as Pindangan. The work specifically traces back to the former barangays (neighborhoods) my parents lived in together, quietly observing communities they once frequented before immigrating overseas.

As part of my residency, my community engagement event included an artist talk at Puón Books, followed by a lesson on photography basics, and a photo walk. The photo walk led participants to historic landmarks near the bookshop, as well as landmarks personal to me, stopping by former streets and homes my parents once lived in together.

The online exhibition shares photos submitted by the participants, which were created during the workshop or independently. This work became extra meaningful for us, as a typhoon recently made its way through La Union and the Northern Philippines in the summer of 2025, damaging many of the streets we walked through and the sites photographed in this project. It's moments like these that we, as photographers, know we've done our jobs — documenting and memorializing our continually changing communities.

Be sure to check out the online exhibition from your computers for the full experience!

Over a year later, I am FINALLY concluding work from my ARROZidency artist-in-residence at OM France Viana Studio at the Minnesota Street Project in San Francisco.

As a last reminder, if you are just starting here, I recommend scrolling to the bottom of this series & starting from the beginning! View from a computer for the full experience.

A full round-up of my residency work, starting from my research in Cebu in 2024 up until this post, is available under the tag:

To view my main residency project only, which consists of my Cebu research & main photo documentary essay, that work is tagged under:

I am really excited to finally finish this project, because it's taken me over a year to do so! After reviewing all of the work, I hadn't realised how busy I actually was. It was a struggle to finish sooner due to more unexpected, drawn-out health issues last year after I came home from the Philippines. But now that I've finally had time to sit with the work, it felt like the right time to revisit & push myself to finish.

I haven't got much else to say other thank how thankful I am for this experience — a truly educational, healing, spiritual & transcendental experience in so many ways. And I am so, so thankful for all the people who supported me along the way, whether it was making a direct investment into the work itself, helping me secure housing, or even just meeting up to connect, spend time together, talk art & life. Altogether, it made for a deeply insightful experience.

These last few photos aren't really related to the work at all — yes & no. They were just a few misc photos I found on my camera roll from misc excursions. I recommend clicking on them to enlarge!
​
At the end of every day, even though I could have stayed late & gone on all night like I used to at my studio during my college days, I always made a point to leave the studio before dark. Every day, I left the studio in the Dogpatch district around sunset for a bike ride along the bay into Union Square. While it wasn't part of the art-making, per se, it was a way for me to clear my mind, unwind from the day & mentally prepare for the next day. The top-left photo was just from one of those days when I happened to stop & take a photo.

The right & bottom left photos are from misc walks from Union Square to my sublet in Nob Hill. Every day, I tried to take a different route to see if I saw something cool along the way. Revisiting the neon signage of the "Love These Flowers" was like visually giving flowers to myself for finally finishing this project. And the bottom right photo was something that just quickly caught my eye on a walk home one day. Hendrix's Axis: Bold as Love​, a skate deck & misc tagging. Thinking of the last song on the album as I finish this series. Thanks for reading this far. :)

Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my YouTube channel, or subscribe to my newsletter for updates on my blog posts, projects, or upcoming programs.

Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.

It was Sunday, February 2, 2025. The rain was making its way through San Francisco & I had a ticket to the Asian Art Museum's free admission day. The rain was coming down & I remember being on the phone with my partner in the morning, asking him if I should still go, because it was raining & I wanted to be cozy. 😅 He encouraged me to go, because I may never get another chance to experience this again. I got dressed & had a short bike ride over to the museum from my sublet in Nob Hill. 

I was hoping that even though it was the free admission day, that not many people would be there because it was raining. I was sadly mistaken, haha! It was a bit too crowded for my taste, too noisy, I had a hard time navigating the galleries, some of the galleries were closed for installation, & from what I did get to see, I wasn't really impressed with the exhibitions.

However, the main thing I wanted to experience at the museum was the lion dance performance. Having experienced my first lion dance performance just the year prior, I wanted to relive that electrifying feeling again. 

While the program was sadly so unorganized, the performance itself was so much fun to experience. At this time, having just left LA for this residency as the fires were erupting, I wanted to bring back some good fortune and cast off any lingering bad energy before returning to LA.

🐍 I hope everyone is feeling the energy of rebirth and renewal as we all finish shedding our skin from the year of the wood snake. Now, as we enter the year of the fire horse, I wish everyone a happy Chinese New Year, Tết, and Seollal!

Fun fact: I was born in the year of the horse (in the 1900s)! The horse is known for being strong, independent & anti-authoritarian by nature. May we all channel our big fire horse energy this year as we dream of a future where authority & hierarchies no longer exist. ❤️‍🔥🐎

Shout out LionDanceME for their high-energy performance! Here's some photos of their performance from last year.

Photographs were created with my Nikon ZF & a 24-70mm lens.

Click any image below to enlarge.

Sharing more of the extended research & photography of my month long ARROZidency artist-in-residence.

If you are just starting here, I recommend scrolling to the bottom to start at the beginning. View from a computer for the full experience!
​
As another reminder, I've split up the work from my residency into 2 separate tags:

​For my main residency project only, visit:

My month in San Francisco for my ARROZidency was surrounded by art and creatives. I felt/feel incredibly fortunate & grateful for the experience, because I got to meet so many artists, as well as reconnect with artists & friends I hadn't seen in real life for a number of years. It was amazing to feel like I was immersed in a community of creatives again, & also have access to art everywhere. From my residency studio, its facilities & all the people who work there, to the galleries just across the street, to even the temp sublet I was renting in Nob Hill.

Of course, while spending my time getting creative & connecting with other artists, I also got to experience some exhibitions & soak up some inspiration that way. Here's a few shows I got to check out in-person!

​Photographs were created with my Nikon ZF & a 24-70mm lens.

Click any image below to enlarge.

My residency host invited me, another artist at the studio (who was also a former AIR) & his spouse to check out the last few days of Spirit House at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. You can check out a virtual tour of the program on their website. I appreciate that some institutions & arts spaces still offer this accessibility option for the many reasons some cannot make it to art exhibitions in-person. I also did not photograph every single work, just a few of my favorites. So definitely head over to their website to view the full exhibition of works & to learn more!

The artwork themselves were phenomenal, the collection was a great choice, & the placement of everything was very thoughtful. I have no notes or edits on the layout, selection, or the artwork at all. I just have a lot to say about exhibitions like these. However, I'm not an art critic, so I'm saving that discourse for real life conversations. If you know me, you already know how I feel about it. ;)
​

Stephanie H. Shih
Offering (Ash Tower), 2023
ceramic and steel
​
​

Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya
What Remains, 2024
​rice boxes, paint, rice, rebar, wood, cast hands, beads, thread, rope, wire, and textile

​

right:
Cathy Lu
Banana Tree, 2023
ceramic and joss sticks

left:
Reagan Louie
Window, San Francisco, Chinatown, 2005
archival pigment print
edition 2 of 5

I might be biased, because I love photography (obviously) & didn't see a lot of of it in the exhibition, but Louie's photo was probably my favorite piece in the show. Not necessarily because it was a photograph, but the simplicity of a still life photo down to the smaller scale of the piece compared to the (sometimes) overwhelming size of everything else managed to say a lot. Sometimes less is more, & this piece truly embodied that for me. This was a peak into someone's world, something that was relatable for me in just this one small photo. I'm not Chinese, but it's something about the clutter and maximalism of a small space that speaks to the universal experience of growing up in a small immigrant household.

​

Nina Molloy
Shrine, 2021–2022
oil on canvas

​

Tuan Andrew Nguyen
Nothing Is Ever Lost, Nothing Ever Gained, 2022
brass from artillery shells, mounted on black stainless steel

Nothing Ever Dies, 2022
singing bowl pounded from 122 mm brass artillery shell, tuned to note G at 410 Hz

Dinh Q. Lê
​Cambodia Reamker #29, 2022
​Epson inkjet print on Epson double-weight matte paper, acid-free double-sided tape, and PH-neutral linen book tape

Maia Cruz Palileo
Big Lolo, Little Lolo, 2021
wood, milk paint, table

Korakrit Arunanondchai
Shore of Security, 2022
repurposed wooden dollhouse made by the artist's mother, wood, house paint polyurethane, fabric sculpture, ceramics snake skeleton, and LED lights

​

I don't think these tapestries were technically part of the exhibition? There seems to be no clickable description about them in the virtual tour — so, unsure!

​

Friend & residency co-host Malou with her baby girl, Habibi!

Oscar yi Hou
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, aka: Bushwick Bleeding Hearts Club, 2022
oil and gouache on canvas

I got to check out Cian Dayrit's solo exhibition Liberties Were Taken at Root Division during SF Art Week, a week-long celebrations of San Francisco's art scene that takes place across multiple galleries and creative spaces. I attended a curator-led walkthrough of the exhibition that was very informative, & the curator was a very professional presenter, making it was clear they did a lot of research and studying for this exhibition. Also got to meet a rad fellow photographer, Hunter, who works at the gallery & took this photo of me in action, haha!

Here were some of my fav pieces from the show. While I did enjoy the Spirit House exhibition a lot, I have to say I liked this one more. And not because the artist is Filipino, but I appreciate smaller community art spaces like these more over large institutions.

Last but not least, I got to check out Dark Matter presented by The Space Program at Minnesota Street Project for SF Art Week, one of the main events of the week.

I was very lucky to have been located so close to this event, with the studios being just across the street. One of the artists at the studio whom I'd gotten to know over the month also had work part of this program. I also learnt this night, that the owner of Re.riddle (one of the gallery spaces at Minnesota Street Project) was also the curator of the exhibition I got to see at Edge on the Square! It was really amazing in the end how all my experiences connected with each other.

Below are a few of my fav pieces from Dark Matter, but here is a full list of works if you'd like you see what else was shown. Some of the work below was not part of the Dark Matter​ program, but from exhibitions at one of the galleries that were open during the opening night — so make sure to check out that image list for accuracy!

Ben Venom
Night Flyers, 2024
hand-made quilt with fabric
39” x 51”

​

left:
​Richard Colman 
Untitled (Aluminum Leaf), 2024
20” x 23”
silkscreen, acrylic and aluminum leaf on paper

right: 
Untitled (Gold Leaf), 2024
20” x 23”
silkscreen, acrylic and gold leaf on paper

​

left:
Oliver Hawk Holden
Watermelon inflatable in solidarity with Palestine, 2023
Ripstop nylon, HVAC fan, plywood, and sheet metal 
8' x 8' x 16'

​top right:
Jay Howell 
22” x 24”
Untitled, 2024
​5 color silkscreen

​bottom right painting: 
Yarrow Slaps
Castles burn and new grounds rise, 2024
12" x 12"
acrylic on canvas

bottom right sculptures:
Yarrow Slaps
Star Lady Plant Head and King Bruh Bruh w the glasses, 2024
ceramic

​

Gianluca Franzese
Arteries of the Earth, 2024 
aluminum leaf, silver leaf, copper leaf, 12k white gold leaf, 18k and 22k gold leaf with acrylic glazes on panel
48 x 60.75"

​

​Mildred Howard's Bottle Houses at Anglim/Trimble.

​

Works from Rena Bransten Gallery's Summoning group exhibition.

left: 
Lava Thomas
I Walk in the Light of My Ancestors' Prayers, 2024
altered tambourines, acrylic marker on metallic leather, mirrored acrylic disks, grosgrain ribbon
59.5" x 115.25" x 2"

​right:
​Viviana Paredes
Everywhere / nowhere, 2018
cast glass, ceramic beads, steel plate
sculpture: 6" x 13" x 10"
steel plate: 15" x 13" x 0.25"

Sharing more of the extended research & photography of my month long ARROZidency artist-in-residence.

If you are just starting here, I recommend scrolling to the bottom to start at the beginning. View from a computer for the full experience!
​
As another reminder, I've split up the work from my residency into 2 separate tags:

​For my main residency project only, visit:

A place I really wanted to visit during my time in the Bay was the San Francisco Mission, which I had just learnt was actually split into 2 different structures, including the Mission San Francicso de Asis & then Mission Dolores.

For anyone new here, I'm not religious, Catholic or Christian. However, I am interested in the history of the California Missions, because I'm interested in the parallels between the Natives of so-called California & the Natives of the so-called Philippines.

Strange, but one of my life goals is to someday visit all 21 California Missions. I've only visited 4. ​😅

Anyways, as someone part of the Ilokano/Filipino-Californian diaspora, I'm interested in the parallels between our histories because we share the same colonisers — Spain & the so-called United States of America — with both still having a traumatic chokehold on our cultures. Whenever I visit a church in the Philippines, my first thought is, "This feels like I'm in California." And when I visit a church in California, I find myself thinking the reverse: "I feel like I'm in the Philippines." It's these feelings that lead me to believe that the Californian diasporic experience is particularly unique among Filipinos.

[ For some quick comparisons, check out my more recent photos of the church in San Juan, La Union, where my father was baptised in the 1930s & where we had his mass before his internment; the Namacpacan church in Luna, La Union; & the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu, where I started my research for this residency. ]

​The Mission in San Francisco is the oldest structure in the city & it also houses the oldest & only cemetery within the city limits. This was particularly interesting for me, because while I haven't been to many CA Missions yet, this is the only one I've been to (so far?) with a cemetery. I'll share more history on the cemetery below.

Starting with some exterior views of the Mission San Francisco de Asis, moving into the interior, to the cemetery, and to the interior of the Mission Dolores Basilica.

​Photographs were created with my Nikon ZF & a 24-70mm lens.

Click any image below to enlarge.

St. Joseph's Altar (1810). Anonymous. wood, gold leaf, oil paint.
Left to right: St. John of Capistrano, Saint Joseph, St. Bonaventure.

St. Anthony's Altar ​(1810). Anonymous. wood, gold leaf, oil paint.
​Left to right: St. Pascual of Baylón, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Francis of Solano.

Reredos, Main Altar (1797). Anonymous. wood, gold leaf, oil paint.

According to church signage:

The reredos was crafted in Mexico and brought to the mission in 1797.

Clockwise from top left: St. Francis of Assisi in ecstasy. St. Joachim, father of Mary. St. Michael the Archangel. St. Clare of Assisi, founder of the order known as the Poor Clares. St. Francis of Assisi with the stigmata. St. Anne, mother of Mary. Crucifix. Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception. Tabernacle.

After a quick search, I learnt that a reredos is a type of altarpiece.

According to Britannica:

altarpiece, work of art that decorates the space above and behind the altar in a Christian church. Painting, relief, and sculpture in the round have all been used in altarpieces, either alone or in combination. These artworks usually depict holy personages, saints, and biblical subjects.

Several technical terms are associated with altarpieces. The predella is a low, decorated strip intended to raise the main part of the altarpiece to a height where it is readily visible from a distance. A diptych is an altarpiece consisting of two painted panels, a triptych has three panels, and a polyptych has four or more panels. A winged altarpiece is one equipped with movable wings that can be opened or closed over a fixed central part, thereby allowing various representations to be exposed to view. The term reredos is used for an ornamental screen or partition that is not directly attached to the altar table but is affixed to the wall behind it. The term retable simply refers to any ornamental panel behind an altar.

Ceiling.

Pictured right is the Mission museum, which houses a fair amount of Native crafts & artifacts from the Ohlone people. To be honest, I didn't want to take photos of any of it. ​😕

Ceramic mosaic mural by San Francisco artist, Guillermo Granizo (1923-1996). According to Granizo, "In the garden of the mission is a mural of the Spanish Ship "San Carlos" that was sent by the Spaniards to the Pueblo San Francisco to sponsor and colonize the area."

For centuries, the Native Raymatush Ohlone inhabited the peninsula. Near the Mission was once the Chutchui village, where Franciscan monks later decided to build the Mission.

While the church interiors were interesting to me, I was particularly drawn to the cemetery because it was my first time seeing one at one of the CA Missions. And it wasn't just interesting to me because I love gothic aesthetics! It actually has a disturbing & dark history (no pun intended).

Interred at this cemetery are around 5,000 Native Ohlone people. Sources say that they supposedly died due to bad weather & diseases brought from Europe. Somehow, I have a feeling the "bad weather" reason is a crock of shit. We all know by now that genocide of Native people via disease & illnesses is nothing new, especially now as we are witnessing the genocide of the Palestinian people, whom the Israeli government has blocked from receiving life-saving COVID-19 vaccines.

​There's also no way I counted 5,000 headstones at this cemetery, so they were likely buried together in an unmarked mass grave. Like all the other CA Missions, this one was no different. It was built by the forced labor of CA Natives, who were called "Indios" & violently forced to convert to Catholicism & adopt a Spanish name — just like the Natives of the so-called Philippines. 

Statue of St. Francis of Assisi.

I hope one day this statue of Junipero Serra is toppled, too. ​😤

Also at this cemetery is a statue of Kateri Tekakwitha, who apparently was a Native Mohawk woman from New York who converted to Catholicism & later became a saint. Beneath her statue reads "In prayerful memory of our faithful Indians." Some believe she was placed in the cemetery to ease animosity between the Natives & the Mission, & to serve as a marker for those unnamed.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find who this statue is of. 😅 If you happen to know, please feel free to drop a comment! I did love the juxtaposition of the statue with the green & the orange cone, so I decided to keep these in color.

While the Mission San Francisco de Asis was founded in 1776 (technically JUST before the United States was established as a country!), the Mission Dolores Basilica was built 100 years after in 1876.

I don't know what more to say about this basilica, other than the fact that it reminds me of churches in the Philippines. ​😅 This was the last space I visited at the Mission site. I didn't get any photos of the ceiling mural, but make sure to look up if you visit. While the small Mission church certainly had its own charm, the basically was epic in comparison.

​​As I've concluded my main project for my residency, I'm now sharing the rest of my photography, research & experience during my month-long ARROZidency. 

If you are just starting here, I recommend scrolling to the bottom to start at the beginning. View from a computer for the full experience!
​
As another reminder, I've split up the work from my residency into 2 separate tags:

​For my main residency project only, visit:

​Prior to arriving in San Francisco, I was notified that we would be having a studio visit from a curator at the Asian Art Museum, just a few days after I settled into the studio. It was a bit stressful to prepare some work to present in advance! However, it was also exciting and satisfying. As a residency participant, I was happy I received the full experience that was advertised: the opportunity to connect with curators & other artists.

Of course, I could have gone simple & just made a few prints or brought in some older work, but I like making my life more difficult. 🥴 That also wouldn't have really resembled my aesthetic, & I wanted to present something closer to the type of work that I actually make.

By now, most people know that my work is mainly lens-based, but in the last decade I've been thinking a lot about grief & offerings to the metaphysical & what this can look like — so, like I've done in the past, I wanted the two practices to meet. A friend pointed out recently that I use a lot of red in my work, & I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since. For this installation, I wanted to stick to a color palette of red, gold & black as closely as possible, similar to the riso prints I made for this project.

And although it may seem like hoarding, I promise there's a method to my madness & a reason why I collect so much ephemera on any trips I take, & it's because I know they'll be used again for an installation at some point or repurposed in some way. The installation was untitled, but it combined my newer photography with ephemera collected from recent trips to the Philippines, with each tier serving as a mini altar and offering to each place or item.
​

Pictured left is the mock-up of the installation that I'd originally envisioned. As you can see, it had slight edits later, as well as some additions of items I didn't originally photograph for the mock-up.

When we think of altars & the spirit realms, we often think of tiers, namely the 3 tiers of the underworld, physical world, & spirit world. Originally, I'd wanted to create a 3-tier installation, which would have made more sense for me, but wall space was limited & I wanted a decent amount of spacing in between columns. I also think a lot about tiers when thinking about the homeland, & the tiered rice paddies throughout our region that have been tended to by generations of ancestors.

Everything from the collection of ephemera to the size choice is a reference to the maximalism & space limitations many of us experienced in working class immigrant households. Our family always wanted to maximise any small space to display as many memories as they could share, whether it was small printed photos from family gatherings, or prayer cards wedged into a corner of a frame.

​Click any image below to enlarge. Installation shots were photographed with my Nikon ZF & a 24-70mm lens.

Most pictured here were used in the installation. Some ended up not being used, but I photographed them for the purposes of including them in mock-up designs. Some additional misc ephemera ended up being added at the last minute, because I randomly found them later in my junk collection (sadly, not pictured below).

I've always been in the practice of collecting ephemera from trips, both as memory keepsakes & also to think about how they could be repurposed in the future. While not all that is shown below ended up being used in the installation, each had its own significance that I look back on fondly. Here's a description list for each item. Click on an image below for its corresponding number, but it will go from left to right.

1. This rosary wasn’t collected in the Philippines. It was left on an altar I made for my late friend Xam, placed there by his mother. It goes on every altar installation I create now, & even though he is gone, it's my small way of inviting him.

2 & 7. Prayer booklets & prayer card in Bisaya & English, & mini statue that I purchased from a religious souvenir shop opposite the basilica in Cebu, where I also purchased my Santo Niño statue (#4).

3. Plane tickets on my first ever trip to Cebu — hopefully not the last trip, because there's still so much more I need to explore on that island!

4. Small wooden Santo Niño statue I purchased at the religious souvenir shop opposite the basilica in Cebu. This is the same statue I brought with me to get blessed during the two Santo Niño Fiestas photographed in my VENERATING AN ICON photo essay project.

5-6, 11. Prayer booklet & prayer cards I purchased at a religious souvenir shop at the Namacpacan Church in Luna, La Union — home of the largest image of the Mama Mary (Apo Baket) across the archipelago. More on this below.

8. Ceramic Santo Niño sculpture I found at a public market while shopping for woven items in San Fernando, La Union. 

9. My memory is hazy, but I think I bought this rosary at the religious souvenir shop at Namacpacan Church, or possibly the one in Cebu.

10 & 13. Mama Mary keychain & screenprinted Ilokano prayer cloth from the religious souvenir shop at Namacpacan Church. My original mock-up incorporated the prayer cloth, but the size was so much bigger than everything else, it threw the design off-balance, so I scratched it.

12. Receipt from a clothing shop near the basilica in Cebu. Much like the Vatican in Italy, they JUST started enforcing a dress code only a couple of days before we visited. They wouldn't let me in, because they could see the backs of my knees! I had to find a shop nearby that sold long skirts that I could put over my dress. 

14-16. Magnets we bought on the street next to the basilica in Cebu. I ended up not using any of these in the final installation, & instead ended up giving some to my residency host.

All of these were photographed on a table outside with my iPhone, then I uploaded them into Canva & used the background remover tool. 😅​

Printed digital photos in order of appearance from left column to right column in the installation. Left column of photos were from my 2024 visit to Cebu City to visit the original image of the Santo Niño de Cebu. Left column of photos were from my 2024 visit to Luna, La Union to visit the Apo Baket. You can read more about both trips, the history, research & significance of them in my photo series Return Call.

I knew that for this installation, I wanted to include photography from my trip to Cebu, because it was closely related to the work I would be doing in my residency, photographing the Santo Niño Fiestas. 

However, I decided to include photos of my recent trip to Luna, because similarly to the Santo Niño de Cebu, the Mama Mary in Luna also has miraculous lore behind her dating back to the Spanish colonial period. However, while it's true that her existence in Luna is miraculous, she gets nowhere near as much tourism as the Santo Niño de Cebu does, & seems more like just a local legend instead of an international wonder. I wanted to juxtapose the two, because while I may be Filipina, Cebu & the Bisayas are not my culture, as someone with origins in the Ilokano provinces of the Northern Philippines. I wanted to include something closer to our culture to be more representative of the local history of the region we're from.

Photos 1-4 were from Cebu. Photos 5-9 were from Luna.

Click an image below to enlarge. ​

Lastly, I got to have a few studio visits with some local artists & others. This residency was so busy, because nearly every day I was working on something, going somewhere, meeting someone, or having someone over for a studio visit.

​Here are some photos from some of the visits I had:
​
​Photos by Adrian Discipulo. It was exciting to meet Adrian for multiple reasons. Before starting the residency, I was raising funds & selling some of my work left over from an art fair a few months prior. Adrian ended up contacting me online for one of the prints. When asking for his mailing address, I saw he was based in NorCal & told him I would be there for a month, if he wanted to stop by the studio, because I appreciate trying to meet my buyers when I can. It eases my mind to know who I'm selling to is a decent person & the work will go to a good home.

Anyways, he ended up coming by. He is also a photographer, which was fun to have someone to talk about gear with! After getting to know each other a bit, we also learnt that our families are both from the same province in the Philippines, from neighboring towns! The town where my parents went to school & university, next to the town where they were born. It's always exciting to meet someone else from the same province, let alone town! We also got to check out some exhibition openings for San Francisco Art Week over at the Minnesota Street Project galleries, just opposite the studios. I will share these photos later!
​
The soft quality of Adrian's photos was my fav. Thank you for these!

Photos by Ellie Lopez. Ellie is a NorCal-based poet I got to work with on a photography x poetry program for my project MATA ART GALLERY. She ended up coming by to visit & bought some remaining prints. We ended up going on an impromptu visit to the San Francisco botanical garden, where we learnt we both love pro-wrestling, LOL! We had dinner at a vegan restaurant near the garden & ended the night with boba. It was great to spend 1:1 time with someone I kept in touch with online for so long. She was so kind, supportive & generous. Thank you for visiting!

Lastly, my older brother was kind enough to come up to visit me for a few days. He has a fond connection to the Bay, since he lived there for 7 years. We had so much fun doing classic San Francisco stuff, like riding the streetcars (which I haven't done since I was a kid), riding the ferris wheel, eating seafood & ice cream at the pier, & driving up to Petaluma to visit our cousin who had just given birth. He also helped me deinstall & pack up my studio, which felt so bittersweet. The month was so busy, it truly went by so fast. 

​Silly pics from my brother's iPhone below, because I can't always be serious about everything all the time! If you know, you know. *queues entrance music*

This is the last part of my 3-part series, VENERATING AN ICON. I originally was not planning to make a part 3, but recently came across the original proposal for this project & thought it would be fun to share. It's fun to look back at how I envisioned the project panning out & to have accomplished what I proposed!

Again, for anyone who's just hopping on to this series, I recommend scrolling to the bottom of & starting from part 1.

​In case you missed it, I've split up the work from my residency into 2 separate tags:

​For my main residency project only, visit:

For an extended roundup of my research during my residency, visit:

Check out my proposal deck. After viewing the project, what do you think? Did I accomplish what I proposed, or is there more you would have liked to see?

Additional photos & research from the rest of my residency are forthcoming & will be tagged under ARROZidency.

Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my YouTube channel, or subscribe to my newsletter for updates on my blog posts, projects, or upcoming programs.

If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.

This is the last section of the second part of my VENERATING AN ICON documentary photo essay. If you are starting here, I recommend scrolling to the bottom of this series & starting from part 1.

In case you missed it, I've split up the work from my residency into 2 separate tags:

​For my main residency project only, visit:

Even more people brought their Santo Niños this time & it was so cute seeing the diverse kinds that people owned! Some titas even shared interesting stories with me about how they came to own their Santo Niños. One tita told me she allegedly rescued her Santo Niño from the trash. 🤣 She legit told me this. Y'all think she was telling the truth or was she lying at church?

This is where all the titas got up & started dancing with their Santo Niños! France on the right with the sheer shawl dancing with the Santo Niño I brought from Cebu. ​🕺🏻

Additional photos & research from the rest of my residency are forthcoming & will be tagged under ARROZidency.

Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my YouTube channel, or subscribe to my newsletter for updates on my blog posts, projects, or upcoming programs.

If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.

The second part of this 3-part series is split into 3 sections, as it's quite long. If you are starting here, I recommend scrolling to the bottom of this series & starting from part 1.

Because these blog posts cannot support video embeds if there is a lot of media content, here is a short video from my YouTube channel that documents part of the Sinulog performance at the second Santo Niño Fiesta we attended. It was so cute seeing the titas get up & dance with their Santo Niños! The last part will have photos of the performance, but it just hits different watching the movements & hearing the sounds of the music & singing.

​Video was filmed on my iPhone.

And again, in case you missed it, I've split up the work from my residency into 2 separate tags:

​For my main residency project only, visit:

For an extended roundup of my research during my residency, visit:

2.3 will be the last section of part 2 of my main residency project series!

Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, subscribe to my YouTube channel, or subscribe to my newsletter for updates on my blog posts, projects, or upcoming programs.

If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.

The second part of this 2-part series will, in itself, be split into 3 sections, as it's quite long. If you are starting here, I recommend scrolling to the bottom of this series & starting from part 1.

And, in case you missed it, I've split up the work from my residency into 2 separate tags:

​For my main residency project only, visit:

The second Santo Niño Fiesta we visited was at Saint Augustine Catholic Church in South San Francisco (which is its own city separate from the City of San Francisco). SSF is the city next to San Bruno, where the first fiesta took place. It is also adjacent to Daly City, where a large FilAm community resides.

South San Francisco was just a BART ride away from where I was staying in San Francisco proper. While the interior architecture of this church wasn't as interesting as the first church, there was a lot more to look at within the exterior church complex itself. It reminded me a lot of the churches I've visited in the Philippines. The church was also a lot more spacious, with more room for the Sinulog performance later on. I'll share those photos in parts 2.2-2.3!

This event was similar to the last one, where they had a procession for the Santo Niño, Mass, & people brought their own Santo Niños to be blessed. It was actually very exciting to see more people bring their images, & to see the many diverse kinds!

Images were photographed using my Nikon ZF & 24-70mm lens.

Click on an image below to enlarge. I recommend viewing from a computer for the full experience.