Raw + Zen

The pieces depict things that remind me of home—it may be a moment, or something I see. I put two subjects on each artwork that complement each other. They are correlated; they connect as an insight to what is beyond what I can capture.

1.Raw

[w] 43.5 cm x [h] 28 cm| Acrylic on Canvas

The color pink signifies an open wound, sore, raw. The subject may be hurt, bare. Marked by the absence of refinements, being raw means being in a natural state.

This artwork shows my appetite for the rawness of sealife, for water. It is very challenging to make into an artform because it is already art itself. I like how it can transform, how it can heal wounds and how scary it can get.

I consider the shore a portal. Like there’s another world after crossing through bubbles. Though we all know the earth is mostly covered in water – we, ourselves, composed of water, we still have this tendency to fear what’s beyond, what’s below the surface.

But for me, that’s what makes it home. Challenge is part of building a home. Being a freediver, I have these challenges. I was scared at first but the moment I got into the water, in its dark but beautiful depths, I felt comfortable. And I started to explore.

The complementary fish is not just because they live under the sea. This is from my parents’ home décor called billy bob bass. It brings good memories. These have instilled in me a fondness in creating sea creatures for some time now.

2. Calamandala Hush

[w] 43.5 cm x [h] 28 cm | Acrylic on Canvas

The title of this artwork is a play of words – Cala from a local citrus, calamansi, and mandala, which is a symbolic pattern of the universe.

Serenity serves as the unifying theme for this work. The greenness of the grass, for me, represents healing and life itself. I was once told that if a person is undergoing so much stress, one must put their feet on the grass and the grass will absorb its bad energy and give its own pure vibrations.

Through the mycelia that is tangled around the rounded object, like a dream catcher catches bad dreams, the negativities around are filtered.

It is zen.