Growing up in the Philippines, I would walk past a statuette of a bleeding Jesus who stared down on me from the end of the hallway every time I headed toward my room. Living in a country where the fear of retribution from a wrathful God has an effect on all aspects of life, images such as this are commonplace. Under Spanish colonization, the path to God came through violent means and the images associated with them still inhabit the country and its people’s psyche. Not until my family’s move to the U.S. did I realize the effect of colonization and religious conversion in the Philippines.

I began exploring the pathology shared by people who grew up in societies coerced into Christianity.  My pursuit to better understand my identity led me to investigate Philippine political and religious history, and the shift of power during these periods (from the Spanish in the 16th Century through the United States in the 20th Century). The images I create serve as interpretations of my realizations, which are often “reassembled” iconography that allow me to construct my own stories.  Through my paintings, I assimilate religious and historic imagery and put together new mythologies and icons.