What does your research focus on?
Most recently, I have been interested in finding parallels between the practice of art and folk spirituality. I have also been focusing on finding the possibilities of integrating healing in art production. Improvisation has also been an all-encompassing thematic in my research, it is pretty much the engine of my entire art practice including my pedagogy.
How (or why) did you become interested in that line of research?
I went to clown school after finishing art school and that paved way to helping me understand that art is not just about an intellectual endeavor but an emotional and spiritual one. I have always been interested in the unseen forces that shape us and the magical powers that art possesses. I guess you can even think of it from an economic lens where art can imbue monetary value to anything it deems to be art. But besides that, art can be profoundly powerful and can move you in many ways. Good art can be highly transformative for the viewer.
What’s the most interesting (or underappreciated) aspect of your research that most people won’t know about?
I think notions of spirituality have been an underappreciated topic when it comes to art. It almost feels taboo to talk about it. Perhaps because art has been operating on an ego-driven trajectory as seen from art history and the art world and talking about spirituality could easily be seen as self-righteous. But of course, I am not talking about religion or religious art that involved a lot of political entanglement, I am thinking of artists who genuinely channel and incorporate mysticism and spiritual folk beliefs in their art practices such as Wolfgang Laib, Guo Fengyi, Agnes Martin, Emma Kuntz, Hilma Af Klint, and Santiago Bose to name a few.
Why did you choose UTSC?
UTSC has an exciting art program with highly dedicated professors and a lot of notable alumni. The university has also so much to offer when it comes to resources including a diverse student body. I was particularly drawn to and was excited to be joining the Studio Art faculty at the ACM department to contribute and share my experience and skills to the evolution of the department. I think there is a lot of new energy entering the program since the height of the pandemic, especially being back in person.
What are you reading/watching right now?
I have recently delved into reading about the Tasdays. In 1971, a year before the infamous martial law was declared in the Philippines, Spanish American bureaucrat Manuel Elizalde, who was Marcos Sr.’s Presidential Assistant on National Minorities (PANAMIN), is said to have discovered a tribe of 25 or so stone-age hunters and gatherers in the rainforests of Southern Mindanao who were in complete isolation untouched by civilization. Elizalde described them as people wearing natural garments like leaves and twines that used stone-age tools and lived in a cave. It turns out the whole discovery was a hoax created by Elizalde and it even made it to the cover page of National Geographic in 1972!
I am currently watching a lot of exorcism videos by faith healers from the Philippines on YouTube.