11.10.2019
FIRSTDRAFT - ‘KAPWA’ first solo exhibition
Gallery 3
Opening 03.07.19 6-8pm
Artist Talks 25.07.19 6-7pm
Kapwa (shared identity) is the core value and nature of Filipinx peoples – seeing oneself in the other. It refers to the interconnectedness of all beings of the universe.
Eme’s first solo exhibition reflects on past and present works in the life-long act of decolonising through identity politics and anti-colonial action with communities that are concerned with similar lived experiences, ideas and sensibilities. With the theme of Kapwa psychology, philosophy and embodied experience, this artist seeks to transport audiences to engage in their nuanced world and all its complexities.
‘Peaches’, ‘We Matter’ and ‘S.O.S’ are body of works that utilise photography, videography, sound, screen-printing, everyday objects and collaboration with community as its medium for expression of the self and collective experience. Eme’s oeuvre sits in the space of merging life and art. Kapwa exhibition explores sexuality, heritage, mental health, trauma and lived experiences; they ultimately are made for the desire for positive change for all beings.
Art is an outlet for survival and a tool to put forth a self-determining voice. A platform to show awareness, provide positive representation, create dialogue and bayanihan (communal solidarity). The call to action is not just a metaphor; while embedded in the aesthetics of the works, we must actively attack systems of oppression rooted in history’s dominant white predecessors and support systemically marginalised folks in all aspects of life. The personal is social, cultural and political. We as individuals and collective need to take on the process of decolonising in our everyday to unlearn damaging, programmed ways of seeing, thinking and being as the base line for existing. White as a ‘norm’ for consciousness is violence. The action to practice Kapwa is now. It is a feeling deep in one’s core that no other language can translate except for action. Let us treat each other better and create a prosperous future for all.
I pay respects to First Peoples, Black, Brown and People of Colour of all Nations for their strength in active anti-colonial resistance to preserve their stories of survival under colonised worlds. Thank you for the framework elders. The fight continues with us.
Photo credit: Zan Wimberley