![]() What originally sparked your interest in the visual arts in general? And you're adding information to these old photos that we don't get from just looking at them. It's meshing this world with that spiritual world that you talk about. ![]() It's really interesting to see your work and to see that it is so deeply inspired by these archival photos, but then you are also marrying it with colors that are so vibrant. And then I have to imagine that there are a lot of other people who aren't super familiar with that history and these backstories. You discuss how these ideologies and spiritualist thinking are things that you weren't super immersed in until you started doing this research and going through the archives. I think there's something really interesting that you touched on. Something becomes revealed and I don't know if I can verbalize what that is, but I think it's special. In the artistic process and the painting process, I don't quite know where it's going to go, but when it goes from a photograph to a painting or to a sculpture, something changes. So for me, that's what I feel like these paintings uncover in the process of looking at these images and in the process of talking to other people who have experiences from these locations. A lot of those stories have been somewhat buried or attempted to be erased. I think there's something deeper than what we have been taught - at least for me, about my culture. This is a talisman that my auntie gave me called a "kamay" plant, and kamay means hand. There were all these stories when I was growing up about magical amulets and how they would protect you. So I think having that kind of protection is special. Sometimes going through the archives feels really intense. ![]() There's this idea I always reference that means 'I see myself in you' or 'I see myself in the other,' so we really have this shared connection. She lives in Queens and teaches me about Filipino spirituality. I think now that I know the history, which took me a little while to learn, I'm starting to learn deeper concepts. I try not to think about what people will think of the work, but some of the things that I find exciting when I'm making the work - and I hope that comes through in the work - are some of the more spiritual things that I'm learning about these days. Cruz’s current exhibition Days Later, Down River is now showing at Monique Meloche Gallery.Īs your work is heavily rooted in your Filipino identity, what are some aspects of your heritage or upbringing that you aim to share with your audiences - perhaps intricacies that the general public does not know about your culture? ![]() Office stopped by Cruz’s studio to talk about inspiration, their identity, and how all of this manifests into an explosion of color on their canvasses. ![]()
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