“Maskara”
Acrylic
2020
It is the 21st century now but colorism is still a huge issue. Filipinos are using whitening/glutathione lotion, soap and even injectable this obsession goes back to more than 400 years. I can see some movement about this in all social media platforms. Actresses and actors are speaking up about this matter but since this is a rooted insecurity of every Filipino it is hard to break.
The mask represents how Filipinos cope with insecurity instead of addressing this issue that still plays a role in every individual Filipino. They will change their color, change their nose to Eurocentric beauty standards– a small thin nose, V face shaped and fair skin – in short, trying to be perfect, to fit in. Do not get me wrong here, I am not condemning every person who tried doing these things. In fact I was one of them. I am just stating the roots of this insecurity. The flowers represent the beauty, compliments when you certainly look like that while a knife represents every Filipino who experiences the stabbing of discriminations, labeling, separation of what is pretty or not.
I am proud to say that I already stopped being white and accept that I am Morena, I have a big nose, round face and that makes me Filipina.
I am a freshman visual communication in University of the Philippines Diliman. My approach to Quincentennial is a painting about colorism. I believe that this issue is still on-going since Spanish colonialism in the Philippines 300 years ago, back then having dark skin is designated by mestizos, considered as unsightly while having a white skin is beautiful.