ART
An exhibit that explores the hybridity of culture, complexity of intergenerational relationships and study of binational families. Through the archiving of family photos, Javier examines the literal and metaphorical impact of distance, between first generation Americans and their migrant ancestors. The installation pays tribute to family history, their place of origin and migration home.
When you are born into displacement it can be hard to find the space where you belong. The concept of home traditionally refers to the place that one lives, but what about cultural and spiritual parts of ourselves that cultivate the essence of home? This project addresses the hybridity of culture, between the past I never experienced, and the place where I exist today. Here I bring all the fragments of myself together into a place that might not exist on a map, but are so integrally part of who I am, and how I have reconciled my own understanding of defining home.
RETURNING FILIPINO (2018-2019)
The tradition of packing gifts for loved ones overseas is practiced by the Philippine community with the balikbayan box. Named after the tagalog words for returning Filipino, this container serves as a means to transport goods from the U.S. to the Philippines. This social engagement project explores this symbol of the Filipina Diaspora through interviews with community, in San Diego and beyond, about the contents of their balikbayan boxes.
TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY PORTRAIT (2013-2019)
The tradition of family portraits, at first glance, can seem like a simple process. That images of families are collected and then placed inside a series of photo albums. How to families that do not physically see each other participate in this long standing tradition? This project explores the effects of technology with family communication, connection and archiving. These images also examine evolution of the family portrait from formal to more contemporary methods of collecting.
THE PALENGKE / WET MARKET (2018)
An installation that will immerse you in a common type of public market in the Philippines, known in Tagalog as a palengke. Experience this memory of purchasing daily goods with soft sculptures of Bangus (milkfish), the Philippines national fish, Tahong (mussels) a staple in Sineguelasan where her Lola lives, and more. This collection of work encourages the Filipino community to revisit their own memories of the Philippines, childhood and family origin.
An archive that aims to catalog the memory and oral history of underrepresented people. This ongoing project is currently exploring the stories of women of color living and working in Southern California and B.C. Mexico. Housed in recycled card catalogs, an collection of flipbooks and interviews teach visitors about our community. The goal of the project is to provide an oral history and documentation of people that have historically gone unnoticed.
A site specific installations aboard a decommissioned jetliner in Tijuana, México. Presented by artist Ander Azpiri (MX), Rizzhel Javier (US), Griselda Rosas (MX/US), Aren Skalman (US), and Chris Warr (US), in collaboration with the faculty and students of Instituto Tecnológico de Tijuana. In these times of border discord, this binational collaboration Round Trip is aimed at continuing to foster the ongoing artistic dialogue within our region.
A project that engages participants to think about the memories we keep versus the memories we want to forget. For this project, old letters and photos were collected by people that didn't talk to each other anymore. Through this process participants explore the tradition of collection in relationship to memory. They are encouraged to think about the objects they keep, the memories that are carried by them and alternative archiving practices.
A multi-media project that documents the sanitary conditions of Singuelasan in Bacoor, Cavite Philippines. Since my father was a child, trash has always consumed the streets of his native land. Learn about the trash workers and the leaders that motivate the community to keep the town clean and safe for future youth. This project archives events and initiatives developed and for the health, safety and prosperity of this small barrio.
A study on image, movement and how two people can have different interpretations of the same experience . These memories, and the objects that house them, The objects are influenced by the early motion picture devices of the 1800s like the zoetrope and praxinoscope.
This project explores the multiple layers that embody one person. How our gestures and outward expressions are not always in alignment and working together. Through a series of self-portraits she investigates the contradictory nature of the self.
