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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: For an extended roundup of my research during my residency, 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. original mock-up & Final InstallationPictured 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.
EphemeraMost 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. 😅                 PHOTO PRINTS: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.          Studio Visits: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*
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.
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Tomorrow, 3 May, is the last day of my Balay da Judge artist residency with the Alfredo F. Tadiar Library in San Fernando, La Union. 🥲 This will be my last update on this project for a while. I am returning to the US next week, where I will prioritise processing the 35mm film I used to create the main part of this project. The digital photos published in this blog series are meant to serve as previews of the work-in-progress, not final works, but I hope you all enjoyed what you saw. I am hoping to get all film scanned & edited before the end of this year. It will be a priority! These were a few photos I was able to create during the photo walk portion of my photo workshop, using the prompts from our photo scavenger hunt list. These were the very last photos I made with my Nikon ZF (and Pocket Dispo lens) on this trip. View from a computer for the full experience. Click any image to enlarge.   
 Below is an event recap photo gallery provided by the library as well.                      I am also very excited to soon share the workshop participants' photos they created during our photo walk! The submissions are rolling in & already they're all SO incredible! As an art educator, the proudest moment you can experience is seeing your students put your lessons to practice & witness them create. So please stay tuned for updates on that as well! The library & I will be collaborating to publish an online exhibition of the complete collection of photography, & hopefully a printed zine (still TBD).
Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my posts. All updates on my residency will be tagged under Balay da Judge. If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.
Hey all, this is the last week of my Balay da Judge artist residency, as it ends on May 3... This will be one of my last few updates on the work-in-progress I've created for this project, so I hope you enjoy.
While this is more of another side quest & not really related to the residency project, my mom & I paid a visit to Ma-Cho Temple in San Fernando. Ma-Cho Temple is located in the barangay of Ilocanos Norte, where my mom & dad had their first house together. My mom said the temple has been there for many years & it's a place she'd always wanted to go, but never did. She said back in the day supposedly it was never open to the public. Before I leave San Fernando, I wanted to visit this place together with her since she said she'd always wanted to see what it was like. After visiting, my mom also got to show me a bit of Ilocanos Norte. All photos below are from my Nikon ZF using a Pocket Dispo lens. View from a computer for the full experience. Click any image to enlarge. 
Loved that all the parked cars happened to be red.
Ma-Cho temple was built in San Fernando, La Union in 1978 by Filipino-Chinese devotees. It is the first Taoist temple in the Philippines. Sat on top of a hill & overlooking the China Sea, this temple is located within the middle of the hustle & bustle of San Fernando city life. The temple is filled with gardens, pagodas, sculptures & an interior temple with the most intricate carved ceiling art I've ever seen. While I'm not a follower myself, my interest in culture extends to religion & spirituality, & I love visiting places like these. Last autumn, I recently came back from visiting an epic Taoist temple for the sea goddess Mazu in Taiwan. Naturally, stopping by this type of location would interest me. (I'll eventually share photos from that trip, but it's not a priority at the moment.)
After spending some time at the temple, we went around Ilocanos Norte to find the first house her & my dad lived in together as a couple. 
Here, you can see the entrance to the small street leading up to my parents' old house. Since it's not an actual street, there is no street name, but it is off of Ortega Street.
We walked down the small corridor & came across someone staying near the house. The lady told my mom that the original owner (who owned the house when my mom & dad were renting from them) sold the house some time ago & the former owner's nephew is currently the caretaker for the house. My mom explained that she used to live there many years ago with my late dad. She told me she had not been back to that house since the 1970s, & that back in the day it was still dirt roads around there with not as many other houses around.
After we visited her & my dad's first house off of Ortega Street, we went to visit one more house of theirs', which is actually also located just within Tanqui, behind the church at the town plaza in San Fernando.
Located behind this house on Zamora Street, just up the alley on the right (which also has no name) is the last house my mom lived in before immigrating to the United States. She said it is also the house she was living in when she brought my brother home from the hospital. He was born in 1975 & she immigrated to the States in 1980. She lived in this house for about 5 years.
During the photo walk portion of my photography workshop this past weekend, we walked up this street to get to the capital grounds on top of the hill, where students would practice their photography skills & create photos using the prompts in their scavenger hunt list. I made sure to make a little pit stop by this house (just on the road, we didn't go through the alley), where I shared a bit of my family history & why this project is so personal to me.
I also forgot to update you all on which house my mom & dad formerly lived in on Zandueta Street, the street that crosses the library. Here is a photo again (which I already featured in part 2), as well as its placement on the map. You can see that Puón Books/Alfredo F. Tadiar Library is just at the end of the street. 
I hate all the political tarps. LOL
On a final [side] note — I'd also like to point out that some of you may have noticed I added something new to this post, which are the interactive maps. Since a lot of my work really is a visual diary of place, I wanted to further help viewers visualise these locations by sharing maps of where they're actually at & what is surrounding them. This inclusion was inspired by the comic series Windmills: Bearings by Filipino komik artist, Josel Nicolas. I recently got to purchase this graphic novel at Puón & read it during breaks from my residency work. An autobiographical graphic novel, I was inspired by Josel's juxtapositions of his unique illustration style with photography & maps, to further give readers an understanding of place. Not only was this an art style I have not yet encountered in comics (although I can't say it's like I've read millions of them), his writing style was poetic, & his narratives on personal traumas & mortality were deeply heavy, yet oddly relatable. I also really appreciated his humor & very generational-specific references ranging from WWF (F, not E, because us millenials grew up during the WWF era still!), to music references like Oasis (my fav!) & Slade, to random illustrations of Gael Garcia Bernal for no real reason (maybe other than the fact that we grew up watching so many of his films in the early 2000s). Anyways, please consider this my modest book review & get your hands on this inspirational graphic novel if you don't already own it! But bear in mind (hehe), it does contain some very heavy topics.
I have one more post before I time out of my residency tomorrow, 3 May! Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my posts. All updates on my residency will be tagged under Balay da Judge.
If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments. This visit was a bit of a side quest, since I can't really say for certain my parents spent any time at this destination. Earlier this week, my studio assistant & I went on a little excursion to Pindangan Ruins. This is somewhere I'd always seen nearby in my Google Maps, but kept forgetting about it. My studio assistant & I recently went to a pasalubong (souvenir) shop at the San Fernando town plaza that gives out free travel guide booklets. I was reminded again of this destination when I was reading through this helpful travel guide! According to La Union Tayo!, Pindangan was the original name of the City of San Fernando. Pindangan is derived from the Ilokano word pindang, a method of sun-drying & salt preserving meat, referring to San Fernando as a destination heavy in this type of delicacy. Due to its close proximity to the sea, the original church was at constant risk of attacks from foreign invaders (ironic, since I would consider the Spanish foreign invaders themselves). Originally built by Spanish priests in 1764, the church was eventually moved to the town plaza after a couple of other previous relocations, & it is now known as the Cathedral Parish of Saint William the Hermit. However, the ruin site has a Carmelite monastery, which does have its own small church. While this visit isn't directly related to my family's history, it's still part of my study on contemporary San Fernando & integral to its timeline. Being an Ilokana in the Californian diaspora, I'm particularly interested in the parallels between Filipinos & California Natives. We share the same colonisers — both Spain & the so-called United States — & remnants of the Spanish colonial era still exist in both places. As some of you already know, I did a recent photo documentary series on the celebration of the Santo Niño in contemporary Philippines & the diaspora for my project Venerating an Icon, as part of my recent residency at the Minnesota Street Projects in San Francisco. This project is still in-progress, but I'm aiming to tie up loose ends before the end of this year! The project examined a centuries old Spanish icon that is still glorified throughout the islands & diaspora, & I was especially interested in its context within California, another former colony of Spain when it was part of what was known as New Spain. Without further adue, here are some photos from our outing to the Pindangan Ruins. All photos below are from my Nikon ZF using a Pocket Dispo lens. View from a computer for the full experience. Click any image to enlarge. 
 My studio assistant getting some practice with composition. :')
My fav easter egg I got to encounter during this visit was finding the kusikus pattern on the door frame of this small chapel (I'm assuming that's what the structure was). The kusikus is very Ilokano-specific & refers to whirlwind patterns found on abel ules, or woven inabel blankets. The kusikus comes in many variations, but this is probably the most popular version of it. Woven on blankets slept with at night, the pattern is intended to confuse & scare off bad spirits. Make sure to enlarge the images to check out that kusikus doorframe! Unfortunately, that was as close as I could get, as the property was fenced off & not accessible.   Some misc bougainvillea compositions. I love the dual juxtapositions of organic & colorful with grey distressed manmade structure. I also recently found out that bougainvillea is the official provincial flower of La Union. I learnt this through the travel guide booklet I picked up at the pasalubong shop, haha.   Being that it is Semana Santa here in the Philippines, you will usually find images of Jesus & crucifixes covered in purple veils. Starting during the Passiontide, or the last two weeks of Lent, they cover Jesus to observe the last days of his life up until his resurrection on Easter, when he is then unveiled. In the Philippines, his unveiling is considered a way of celebrating his resurrection & Easter. The veil is purple to represent royalty, reminding believers that "Christ is King". Just a friendly reminder that I don't believe in any of this shit, LOL. I just find it interesting, so don't come at me!
More blog posts on the work I've been producing during my residency will be published in the coming weeks! Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my posts. All updates on my residency will be tagged under Balay da Judge.
If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.
Earlier this week I went for a short sunset walk in the barangay of Lingsat in San Fernando, La Union. Like I'd previously mentioned, since it's been so hot, I've been trying to plan my photo outings around other errands I have to run, so that I can do photography closer to sunset, when it's less hot & the lighting is immaculate.
It's not technically an errand, more of a luxury, but there's a nail salon I started going to in Lingsat to get my nails done. I've been working on this project so much, I also need breaks & moments to treat myself! We all do. So I headed over to get my nails done first, then walked to a specific street to do some photography. Part of my mom's family history took place in Lingsat, specifically Hufano St. This is the street my older brother grew up on with our cousins early in his childhood, when our mother first immigrated to the US. He would then immigrate 5 years after her. My tita Rebing & manong Ronald both passed away nearly 2 years ago, one after the other... I didn't grow up here, but I also spent a lot of time here, both in childhood & as an adult. I decided to revisit so I could document what's left of this place to me. All photos below are from my Nikon ZF using a Pocket Dispo lens. View from a computer for the full experience. Click any image to enlarge. 
Walking down Hufano St felt warm & familiar, until I arrived at my tita's house & it was nearly unrecognisable. I only recognised the property because I remembered it was a corner lot & I remembered what the gate looked like. I was sad to see the small dwellings behind the main house were gone — the lot is now empty. And I know it doesn't make sense to keep since she passed away, but I was also so disappointed to see her sari-sari store gone. I spent so many slow morning's at this store, having breakfast, & hanging out with my nieces & nephews.
More blog posts on the work I've been producing during my residency will be published in the coming weeks! Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram, or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my posts. All updates on my residency will be tagged under Balay da Judge.
If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments. Here's some photos from my explorations around San Fernando on foot. These photos took place in the barangays of Catbangen & Tanqui. Not only are these barangays where the Balay da Judge artist residency & Alfredo F. Tadiar library are, they are also former barangays my parents used to live in & spend time in together. Since it's been so hot, I've been trying to plan my outings & errands later in the day, so I can go for a walk & explore after. Here's some interesting compositions & textures I saw during my walks, both early morning & late afternoon. I found that already by 9AM here, the lighting can be quite harsh. For temperature & lighting's sake, 4-6PM has been the sweet spot. All photos below are from my Nikon ZF using a Pocket Dispo lens. View from a computer for the full experience. Click any image to enlarge. Around the Plaza & Tanqui
 My parents once lived on Zandueta St. This street crosses the library.  Harsh lighting, but interesting shadows!
My mom said her & my dad once lived in a green house on Zandueta St, near the library. But we only saw one all-green house that looked way too massive for just a couple?! We saw some houses with green breeze block exteriors, but only one house that was actually all-green. Will confirm what exact house in the coming days, but either way, I love breeze blocks & I hate the mint green color, but I'm reminded of Tropikaye's study on #TKColorCooling. Check out the community index on their Instagram or Facebook pages. Despite my dislike for the color itself, this Philippine-specific visual phenomena still fascinates me. La Union Provincial CapitalFun fact: Did you know San Fernando is the capital city of La Union? 
I haven't been up to the capital grounds since 2018, when my older cousin first took me up here. Every time I come back home & he & his kids are not here, it's not the same. But I'll always be reminded of him fondly whenever I visit the kapitolyo or explore around San Fernando. Upon arrival, my studio assistant & I were pleasantly surprised to see that there was a lovely installation of artificial tulips for the spring season! I bet this looks stunning in the evening time. This is a location we will be visiting for my upcoming photo walk workshop, & we will be heading over around the golden hour. Hopefully it will be lit up so we can experience some magic together!
 They also still had Christmas decorations up, but it was still cute. 😅 Later Day ExplorationsNot sure the exact cause, but last week I experienced one of the worst migraines I've ever had. I was laying in my darkened room with the blinds shut. Any light & sound was making my head pound, & it hurt to look at anything. I tried taking an hour nap & woke up feeling worse! Took a cold shower that didn't help either. I took some meds & knocked out for another 5 hours, & that ended up doing the trick. It could have been caused by a combo of lack of sleep (which is not uncommon for me, sadly), heat exhaustion & maybe even dehydration. After a busy week & that migraine spell, Friday came along & I felt entitled to treating myself to a spa day, hehe. I took a tricycle to the spa, then took one back & got off at the town plaza so I could head back to the residence in Catbangen on foot. During my walk around Catbangen, I decided to take some side streets to find a local mini mart. It was closed, but I randomly happened to come across my mom's former high school. I often enjoy taking side streets because they're quieter & sometimes you just find things you wouldn't expect to see, whether they're locations or just cool compositions.
 
Saw this sick tricycle sidecar with flames painted on it. Along with the epic sunset lighting, it's giving Philippine Flavortown aesthetic. 🔥
 I love the juxtaposition of nature with rusty textures & colors. When you think of it, rust is just a chemical reaction that happens naturally when steel or iron corrode from the meeting of oxygen & water.   More blog posts on the work I've been producing during my residency will be published in the coming weeks! Make sure to keep checking this space, follow me on Instagram or subscribe to my YouTube channel for updates on my posts. All updates on my residency will be tagged under Balay da Judge.
If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments.
I'm so excited to finally share that I am Alfredo F. Tadiar Library's second Balay da Judge artist-in-residence! While I've spent my first month in the Philippines exploring new places & reconnecting with friends & family, I'm spending my second month on this trip living & working at the Balay da Judge as part of my residency with the library. This residency is notably special to me, because it takes place in La Union, my family's home-province, where we have lived & thrived for generations.
For this residency, I am continuing my ongoing photo documentary project, Somnia Memorias (2018-present), which now consists of 3 different parts (part 3 is still currently in-progres), with the 4th part underway as part of my residency. The 4th part of the series focuses on San Fernando, the capital city of La Union. While my family is originally from San Juan, the neighboring municipality, much of my family has spent time in San Fernando, including my parents. San Fernando is particularly significant to me, because it is the place my parents first lived together as a couple & fell in love. Coincidentally, one of the houses my parents lived in together is on the street that crosses the library. For this project, my goal is to visit & document the barangays my parents used to live & spend time in together in San Fernando. Some of these barangays include Tanqui (where the library & bookshop is located), Catbangen (where the balay is), Ilocanos Norte & Lingsat. This project also attempts to trace back & log part of my family's history. One thing I wish I did more of before my father passed away was ask him more about himself, his family, who they were, where they're from, etc. It took me years to process this & name what it actually was: regret. When my dad passed, another father-less friend reminded me that all I have left is my mother, & to make the effort to talk & ask questions before it's too late. The start of this project has been interviewing my mother, asking about each immediate family member she knew of. Parents, siblings, half-siblings, etc. She only knew one grandparent, but barely knew him. I'm particularly drawn to finding out who he was. Aside from asking her about her immediate family, she's really the last connection I have left to my dad, or at least the last person who knew him the best. Of course I have my siblings, but none of us knew our dad the same way my mom did. By visiting the local places they once spent time in together, I'm hoping to also preserve a piece of contemporary La Union, with a special concentration on San Fernando. In addition to the photo documentary work, I'm also hosting a 2-day photo workshop, where I'll be teaching the basics of photography on day 1, & leading a photo scavenger hunt around the city on day 2! We will announce dates & times soon. Keep an eye out in this space for some digital previews of the work I'll be creating, before I officially process the film in a few months! Thank you to all of you who helped me get here, & thank you to the Artist Resistance Through Solidarity (ARTS) Foundation for partially funding my residency project as well! |
NICA AQUINOIn this space I'll share digital previews of my film photography, updates on new artworks in progress, upcoming programs, inspiration & my other misc interests. Archives
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