In a single photograph, I can capture the complexity of my life. Using my body through self-portraits, I want to create literal and metaphorical spaces in which I feel authentic. In my Nazca and Visaya series, I am exploring what it means to be a modern indigenous person creating their own family history, and acknowledging the loss I feel when little is known. I am fabricating a reality through ancient items my family has collected in markets but never passed down. In doing so, I am creating a “character” I feel best represents my research as well as my own imagination. These are some of the only objects I have left from my culture. Feathers and pottery represent the trades between the desert and the Amazon, showing the expansive nature of both Pre-Incan and Incan civilizations. Visayan tattoo designs and plants of the jungle show my connection to the Philippines, where the other half of my family is from. Reclaiming my cultural connection is the heart of my process, as well as questioning what life would be like if they weren’t erased. This is only the start of my life story.
IG Handle: @biancaromanphotography
Website:
Background Print Images Adhesive Inkjet Wallpaper. Various sizes, between 30” - 50” for either side
"The Fusion," 2022. Adhesive Inkjet Wallpaper. 6’ x 9’
Thesis artwork
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