The
migrant communities around the world. Yet these transnational
communities have
been
mainly quiet in their host countries, a testament to the imbalance of
power these immigrants
feel and evidence that remnants of colonialism remain.
Although
the
largest Filipino community in
Canada 2001), the community’s
visual presence on the landscape is scattered.
In this series,
I have attempted to show the subtle imprints of Filipino-Canadians
in
Toronto, highlighting aspects of Philippine culture that have been
diffused,
morphed
or have remained intact in the integration process of the community to
Toronto.
In the creation of this body of
work, I have used images of Philippine storefronts,
housing communities, newspaper
circulations, and advertising.
My artistic process
involved the
collection, appropriation, deconstruction and digital reconstruction
of
these images and represents an exploration of the Philippine diaspora.
Influences
include artist Ken Lum, who has explored themes of displaced identity
in his
“Shopkeeper Series” where he juxtaposes portraits of visual minorities
with commercialized
slogans and signs. Similarly I have appropriated images of storefronts
and
local advertisements
available in the
Furthermore
Manuel Ocampo’s use of transgressive Philippine iconography has
highlighted
for
me the need to make the invisible community more visible through the
use of symbolism.
Where Ocampo used icons that referred to latent post-colonial
aggression, I
have chosen
imagery that highlights the lived reality of neo-colonialism in the
Philippine-Toronto
community as it stands on the periphery of popular Canadian
culture.
Special thanks
to the Ontario Arts Council for sponsoring this project.