Frankie rocks two!

“Pasalubong” . This past month Frankie (Franceska Gamez) rocked this incredible piece w/ Malaya Tuyay for the SF Moma Mini Mural Festival alongside folks like Agana from TDK, and Josue Rojas in the SOMA district. Here’s her full statement on it:

This mural tells the story of healing, reclamation, and honoring our motherland. I draw inspiration from my memories of home, my experience as an immigrant, and my family’s stories. Some stories are about our joys and triumphs, while others are reminders of what we’ve endured. My Lola would share her experiences of WW2 in the Philippines, she was in her early 20s at the time. She told us about having to dress up as a man to escape to the next village with her family. It was common then for young women to be kidnapped, sexually enslaved, and sometimes left for dead- they were called “comfort women”. 

The way she described it, I can never forget the image of a rifle with a bayonet. The pain was so vivid for her. This object was used to instill fear, it embodied violence, and was a reminder of everything that was taken from our people. I wanted to reclaim the images that instilled fear in my Lola. I believe that we are divinely connected to our ancestors- the experiences that marked them, leave imprints on us. This image that I painted on the left is of a woman- brave and bare, possessing the rifle and bayonet. In my vision, the rifle is useless as a weapon, instead its purpose is to carry sampaguita. The flowers symbolize divine hope, purity, strength, and love.  She’s wearing an Ifugao Bakunawa (Dragon / Warrior) Mask. Stories of Bakunawa have been passed down through oral tradition, and in this painting I use it as an assertion of identity and connection to our roots. She stands tall, adorned with only a few things that matter, lifted up by her elders. 

Centuries of colonization tried to make us forget that divine connection. The subjugation and oppression of our peoples continues to affect us collectively, in our mind, body and spirit. I wanted to draw attention to the fact that there is a health gap amongst indigenous and non-indigenous people. The rates in which people of color end their lives can also be directly linked to colonization and systemic oppression. This is the shadow we need to address, the collective healing we long for, the true freedom we seek.

Our connection to land is also more important than we realize. If enough generations are told that our land is not ours, then who will be left to defend it? Through the years I’ve come to my own peace and understanding of what motherland means to me, and I yearn to strengthen that bond. One of the ways to do that is to directly support our people back home, the true stewards of our land, the people on the ground fighting to defend it. The central figure is wearing a traditional Filipinana. Her butterfly-sleeves have transformed into familiar cascading mountains and waters that weave through the islands, as a reminder that our land is always with us, no matter how far we are.

Being an immigrant, I felt the distance and longing throughout my childhood. I was introduced to a new land and culture, and in exchange, I was separated from my mother, my father, and my siblings for years. They have always been my home. Separation from them has affected me in ways that I’m just now beginning to understand. My mother and eldest brother were the first to come to America. The paper planes and boats remind me of how they came here to build a new life with very little, making something out of nothing. The hope that they carried with them, the perseverance, and the many sacrifices they made in order for me to have the life I live now will never go in vain.  -Franceska Gamez

Here’s the finished piece! Amazing! If you’re not already following Frankie on IG, here’s her page.

Here's another piece I did recently- commissioned by Everyday Impact & funded by the California Endownement.

The live painting took place during the first Sacramento AA&PI Conversation. It was an open dialog that included several local AAPI orgs. The goal was to facilitate relationship-building among partner organizations, and share The California Endowment's Power-Building framework for health & racial equity. The artwork I created was inspired by the different organization's values, based on their input. The goal was to encourage connection and foster solidarity through art.

Here’s the finished piece!

If you missed the last post about a workshop Frankie did with Nancy Pili, and Shaun Burner, check that out here.