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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: For the full extended roundup of my research during my residency, 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. Mission San Francisco de Asis Exterior 
Mission San Francisco de Asis Interior
  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. MISSION INNER-EXTERIOR + CEMETERY
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." Mission Dolores CemeteryFor 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.
What I find particularly resonant is the work of Ohlone descendants to honor their ancestors, who were wrongfully killed by Spanish colonisers on this property and buried here. In 2001, members of their community built this Ohlone tule hut as a lasting memorial to them.
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.  Mission Dolores BasilicaWhile 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.
 
 
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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Semana Santa (Holy Week) in the Philippines is a religious season I've always wanted to experience. It is every goth girl's dream, hahaha (just kidding). All jokes aside, it's considered a big deal in the Philippines due to the country's large Catholic demographic. Not only is it very significant here, Semana Santa in the Philippines is particularly known for the senakulo, a gory reenactment of the passion play & death of Jesus. Senakulo comes from the Spanish word cenáculo, which is Spanish for the Cenacle — the Upper Room in Jerusalem where Jesus held the Last Supper. I'm not sure if our province reenacts such a gruesome senakulo performance, but I am both looking forward to finding out & also kind of scared. 😅 I've only ever seen fake gore on TV, not real gore in real life. Kicking off Semana Santa, I went to the local church at the town plaza in San Fernando, less than a 15 minute walk from my studio at the Balay da Judge, to attend an Ilokano mass for Palm Sunday. I knew the streets would be filled with palaspas, or woven palms. Signifying the start of Semana Santa, Filipinos carry their palaspas in hand to observe Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted with folks waving palms at him. While palaspas has its religious connotations, let's also acknowledge the art of palm weaving as a pre-colonial Indigenous practice. Aside from religious purposes, palm weaving is also used to make vessels to cook rice, baskets, fiesta goods & more. This moment feels full circle for me, since before I came back to the Philippines, I produced a palm weaving workshop for Mata Art Gallery in partnership with Artronika, led by teaching artist Diyan Bukobomba. Check out a recap here! All photos below were created with my Nikon ZF using a Pocket Dispo lens. View from a computer for the full experience. Click any image to enlarge. 
More blog posts on the work I've been producing during my residency will be coming up this week! Make sure to keep checking this space, or follow me on Instagram for updates. 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. Kaamulan FestAside from reconnecting with friends & exploring the island, Kaamulan is the main reason why I wanted to come to Mindanao this time! I was really hoping to experience the grand entry & hopefully see some performances or Native games, but we weren't able to this time. Hopefully next time if I'm ever able to visit again! Nonetheless, it was great to connect, experience the art, view how different their art styles are, but also draw connections as well. While the cultures of the Northern & Southern Philippines can greatly vary, I hope people can also realise the similarities we share with our relatives in the south. The Kaamulan Festival is a large month-long cultural gathering of the ethnic tribes of the Bukidnon province in Mindanao. Held in the provincial capital of Malaybalay, it is a special time for the seven tribes to unite. I was told the festival has been going on for a little over 50 years, but some believe it may have been celebrated even farther back. Although I didn't get to experience any music or performances this time, I got to leave the festival dripping in brass jewellery — something I was hoping to leave with. Throughout the Northern & Southern Philippines, brass is used to make musical instruments & accessories. Brass instruments are played for an array of uses such as communication, ceremony, or celebration. As accessories, brass is worn to ward off bad energies & spirits. All photos below are from my Nikon ZF using a Pocket Dispo lens. The women portrayed below consented to me photographing them. View photos from a computer for the full experience. Click any image below to enlarge. 
Abbey of TransfigurationWe had the unique opportunity to stay at an accommodation in Malaybalay that was near the Abbey of Transfiguration. Nestled among acres of banana & cacao trees, the abbey is a Catholic monastery that has a pyramid-shaped church, as well as a coffee plantation that is farmed, harvested, & roasted by the monks that live in the monastery. Make sure to grab a bag of their Monk's Blend coffee beans at their gift shop! If you are interested in going inside the church, please note that they do have a dress code, just like the Vatican in Rome & now the Basilica de Santo Niño in Cebu. 
   And that concludes my 9-day trip to Mindanao. 9 days was not enough, but I'm so happy & grateful I got to experience it at least once. I hope this is not the last time I will be in Mindanao. I just know there's still so much to see & experience here. And while I know these don't seem like a lot of photos, I was honestly just trying to be there & be immersed in it all.
Eternally grateful to my friend's Nikki & RM for taking the time to show me around Mindanao, & also dealing with some of the unnecessary qualms I came with. 😅 Thank you for everything! Please check out their newest project that is currently underway, Balay Kasamtangan. If you have the means to, please redistribute your wealth & support their one of a kind project! If you've read this far, thank you! Please feel free to share your thoughts or any questions in the comments. |
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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