How this artist’s perception of the female body and national identity shaped her approaches to art

Photography has been a constant witness and ally, all two decades and more of my art practice. I like that photography is always evolving, and it’s always contemporary. Though the principles (light and time) are the same, technology is always the wild card. All the same, I’m not limited to just the pleasure of the photographic capture taken by the camera. I intervene and make my hand present in all stages of the making – in-studio, in-camera, in image processing, in print, and even in the artist frame. In the end, I am the medium.

In truth, I’ve manipulated every stage of the process, not just the digital file. I make tableau vivants in the studio where I carefully place materials, scenography and lights – which in the final photographic artwork seem flat and collage-like. This is part of my intention and technique, my visual language of “cut-and-paste” on the actual scene, and on the digital image, and on the framing. This is the way I remind the viewers that they are looking at a created/constructed image and with that, carries my opinions, intentions and proposals for meaning.

Truth is many; what I’m interested in is a self-reflexive point of view where I can show a sense of how I see the world. My photographic tableaus are constructions, and they tell of interpretations rather than give cold hard facts and information. I endeavour to be authentic as I approach the medium with an artistic hand that is free to explore the possibilities of the medium, break rules and seams, whether within the photographic capture in the studio or in the image processing. The important thing for me is to be precise in my intention and playful in my execution.

Whenever I represent myself in front of the camera – a corporeal female, Asian, Filipina – I’m making a statement. The self-portraits are a form of resistance. I’m still here no matter what. I am present. WE are present.

The artist/woman/mother/Filipina/Asian/transnational is present. And she sits in her power, she is seeing and representing herself, she can heal and transfigure herself. She is made for a thousand rebirths. Her body is dialed in to be creative and her desires make worlds happen.

For “Tropical Gothic” (a term coined by our National Artist Nick Joaquin), I draw inspiration from the distinct syncretic tapestry of Philippine culture and hybridity, which locates us in Southeast Asia but also elsewhere, marking traces of our post-colonial Spanish-American-Asian identity.

Our tropicality is marked by vivid colours of a hot and humid noon-day sun, the flowers and fruits coming from a plethora of tropical plants; the lushness envelopes us, as well as concrete, globalisation, the cacophony of influx, both natural and artificial. The mishmash of our identity is in the living of many contrasts all at once and celebrating this mysterious mix, this east-west pastiche, this “gothic”. In the self-portraits, I bring my Self as the case in point.

The series “Self-Portraits and the Tropical Gothic” is once and for all a reclaiming of my identity and roots as Filipino, Southeast Asian, and a postcolonial hybrid of the Spanish, American and panOriental. The cacophony of colours, fabrics, patterns, horror vacui is unapologetically Pinoy. There is wit, humour and arms-akimbo self-possession but also a brave tenderness and vulnerability.

AI is here to stay and I think it’s best to think of it as another species — It will evolve, get more sophisticated and things will change, in art and everything. If AI is another species, we as humans ought to design ways to interact and coexist with it, while also evolving ourselves. There is fear of what is unknown, of art-making being replaced but I choose to see a multidimensional perspective: Yes, AI is a helpful tool and carries potential danger, but no, I will not stop creating because of it, maybe who knows I can even create alongside it. I will be very aware of what is going on but I will create from my own gut-level human messy imperfect moody illogical savage self. AI can mimic but I wonder if it can taste blood.

I have my works currently on the landmark exhibition “Living Pictures: Photography in Southeast Asia” at the National Gallery Singapore until August 2023. I’m currently preparing for my solo exhibit in New York at Silverlens Gallery for January 2024. For other projects and shows, you can see it on my Instagram, @wawinavarroza.