Fighting Cocks For Sale
“It was said a Filipino would save from a burning house first his gamecock, then his wife.”
From TURN OF THE CENTURY by Gilda Cordero-Fernando & Nik Ricio
"Fighting Cocks For Sale" consists of portraits of fighting cock vendors in my provincial town in the Philippines. The men come from different socio-economic classes. Some are tricycle drivers; others own farms. Most sell to supplement their incomes. For centuries, cockfighting has been a male-dominated past-time in the Philippines - the vendors, buyers, spectators, and even the fighting cocks themselves are male. “Fighting Cocks For Sale” explores gender roles and expectations in modern-day Philippines.
“It was said a Filipino would save from a burning house first his gamecock, then his wife.”
From TURN OF THE CENTURY by Gilda Cordero-Fernando & Nik Ricio
"Fighting Cocks For Sale" consists of portraits of fighting cock vendors in my provincial town in the Philippines. The men come from different socio-economic classes. Some are tricycle drivers; others own farms. Most sell to supplement their incomes. For centuries, cockfighting has been a male-dominated past-time in the Philippines - the vendors, buyers, spectators, and even the fighting cocks themselves are male. “Fighting Cocks For Sale” explores gender roles and expectations in modern-day Philippines.
In the Wild
Feral cats roam in my neighborhood in East Oakland. When new ones appear, my neighbors trap them and have them neutered/spayed. These cats become fixtures in my street because my neighbors feed them. Rodent control, they explain.
My indoor cat was born behind a rose bush on my neighbor's front yard. Initially, her pregnant mother was in queue to get her pregnancy terminated. However, the pandemic created a backlog at the local animal shelter. Now my indoor cat watches her mother stalking, preying, and playing with the other new ferals.
Feral cats roam in my neighborhood in East Oakland. When new ones appear, my neighbors trap them and have them neutered/spayed. These cats become fixtures in my street because my neighbors feed them. Rodent control, they explain.
My indoor cat was born behind a rose bush on my neighbor's front yard. Initially, her pregnant mother was in queue to get her pregnancy terminated. However, the pandemic created a backlog at the local animal shelter. Now my indoor cat watches her mother stalking, preying, and playing with the other new ferals.
Windows
Congratulations to my fellow artists whose works are on view in #ThedeYoungOpen! I'm so happy and grateful that my photograph, "The Passage", will hang side-by-side with your pieces in the @deyoungmuseum galleries.
Learn more about the exhibition by visiting famsf.org.
#ThedeYoungOpen exhibition is open from September 30, 2023 to January 7, 2024. And guess what? Bay Area residents can view the exhibition for FREE on Saturdays!
Folsom Street Fair 2023
Portraits Up Your Alley
My Bay(Bae)
I explore the Bay Area to make photos out of found objects. Discovering stories from random and unpredictable encounters continue to inspire me.
Life With Dad Portraits
“All photographs are memento mori*.” Susan Sontag
Traditionally, adult Filipino children are expected to take care of their aging parents. I am no exception even though I have been living in America since I was seven years old. It was during the pandemic when I became my father’s caregiver. The tables had turned: the child now became the parent and vice versa. Every day I observed my dad struggle with his mobility, his memory, and his physical decline. I took up digital photography in order to keep my aging dad alive and present in my memory. Ultimately, living with my dad made me confront my own mortality. In my series, LIFE WITH DAD PORTRAITS, I explore the medium of photography in how I relate to memory and to death.
*Memento mori is Latin for “remember you will die”
Traditionally, adult Filipino children are expected to take care of their aging parents. I am no exception even though I have been living in America since I was seven years old. It was during the pandemic when I became my father’s caregiver. The tables had turned: the child now became the parent and vice versa. Every day I observed my dad struggle with his mobility, his memory, and his physical decline. I took up digital photography in order to keep my aging dad alive and present in my memory. Ultimately, living with my dad made me confront my own mortality. In my series, LIFE WITH DAD PORTRAITS, I explore the medium of photography in how I relate to memory and to death.
*Memento mori is Latin for “remember you will die”
