Maria Pilar Lourdes Cruz

Exploring Filipina Identity

This practice-led project explores Filipina Identity through mixed media graphic design. It asks how two halves of a Pre and Post-Colonial identity may exist in visual and narrative harmony. The titular ‘Maria’ is a fictional character who sits at the centre of every work, conceptualised by the artist to navigate themes of gender, identity, and courage, in the hopes that young Filipinas may see themselves represented in her heroic, vulnerable actions. Through a series of seven hand-made shrines, the practitioner takes the bold landscapes and bright, colourful creatures of Pre-Colonial Philippine mythology into the intensely sacred, absurd, and fantastical world of 3D assemblage. By using Western literary devices (such as the Hero’s Journey and Epic Poetry) to frame indigenous Filipino folklore, the project hopes to create a timeless, familiar narrative—but with a twist. Ultimately, the project takes the form of a ‘Writer’s Folder’ with ring-bound photographs, prose, and curatorial notes that document thirteen weeks of making.