Birth of a Pinay
an accumulation of a lot of feelings and experiences, spanning from generations of survivors of colonization to the personal lens of this brown girl navigating the world.
Watercolor on Arches paper
22 x 30 in.
2026
Intentions behind Birth of Pinay
Channeled into this piece are all the times I’ve been ogled and objectified, especially when visiting my own motherland: the Philippines. Arrogant palm-colored men occupy the plane rides, the streets of Manila and the coasts of Siargao boasting their presence whilst a questionably young bought pinay is under their arms.
The gross misogyny allowing this behavior leads to maltreatment across board.
Encountering this grossness while trying to reclaim the connection to where my family is from… it hits harder than anywhere else.
Another source channeled into the piece was rage towards this particular pattern: Brown and Black bodies across the globe becoming commodified for the benefit of “superpowers” and leaders willingly pimping out their own people to earn some of the chunk of change.
For instance, one of these “superpowers” has been stomping around Siargao as if to claim a new colony. They’re partaking in land grabs of those Indigenous to the land, trashing the land, getting in both verbal and physical altercations… The list goes on.
And, yet, guess who agreed to make a mining-for-tech business deal with this “superpower” and another? Mining = destruction of land, more exploitation of cheap and dangerous labor. Additionally, this business deal will directly aid g3n0c!de.
References
Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (1486)
The painting Birth of Venus served as reference for Birth of a Pinay. Venus is mystically born from a shell and welcomed by other gods on the coast. She is respected as the divine she is.
How can we compare Venus’ coming-to-earth-side experience to those of the Philippines and others historically (and currently) colonized?
Taro in Siargao
A scene I saw of taro growing in Siargao: the mammoth leaves crowded by dozens San Miguel beer and Pepsi crates.
It looks as if the taro were growing out of these crates; staring at this photo, I went from amused to sad. I wondered how much of Mama Earth’s blooms were disrupted like that of this taro.
