tsinelas

Tsinelas are colorful sandals that are found in the Philippines. Filipinos wear them around the house, to pray at the church, to work at construction sites, to play basketball, etc. 

In this series, I am painting tsinelas, these cheap and common footwear, as a way to express the sacred value of every Filipino. With each tsinelas I paint, I want to affirm the importance of each person that could have worn those tsinelas and the value of their diverse, individual journeys. Coupled with this celebratory affirmation is also a sense of mourning, as the tsinelas owners’ bodies are absent and all that is seen are their tsinelas. In an atmosphere of political division fueled by racism and xenophobia, I want to uphold people’s individual value, particularly those that are marginalized, dehumanized, or simply seen as "unremarkable." Each one of us is sacred. No one is to be excluded.

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