Banal : sculptural meditations on the unfamiliar

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] This creative research is about filtering my own displaced experience, of being part of the Filipino Diaspora. With Judeo-Christian spirituality as my lens I have created artworks that deal with the unfamiliar aspects of America. The notion of making an object as a symbol, as an expression of faith, or as a reminder of a spiritual lesson from a specific circumstance was a ritual that was done all over the world for thousands of years. For instance, Old Testament Scriptures record Jewish exiles, upon arrival at their destination collected ordinary stones, and stacked them up as an offering and as an act of remembering. My pieces are in resonance with these "memorial stones." My artworks run the gamut of subject matter from identity, notions about home, post-colonial narratives, religious consumerism to a seemingly simple a topic as the season of winter. This investigation took the form of installations, objects and video performances suggesting that every personal circumstance has underlying spiritual implications. I positioned myself both as a social commentator and as a supplicant. These points of view are exemplified by how American society is critiqued and how the process of making has allowed myself to become aware of my own contradictions and spiritual malpractices. The object lessons from banal materiality engage both the maker and viewer to reflect on the significance of spirituality. My intent is to find collective truths, which go beyond cultural differences. These truths result in knowledge for transcendence to a truly human order.