The Filipino in Me - Insights into Living Heritage
Entry by Jasmine Atay. Calgary, Alberta
Artist/Creator Statement on Work:
I'm a Calgary-based graphic designer and an emerging multidisciplinary artist. A graphic designer by trade, I spend my 9-5 working on projects that showcase the best side of Calgary. While my evenings and weekends are dedicated to pursuing my artistic career.
As an artist, I value capturing optimism, curiosity, and what's extraordinary in life. As a new mother and second-generation Filipino/Turkish Canadian, I need to produce work that speaks to my heritage, what we've gone through, and how we're stronger for it. I hope that one day my daughter and others like her will have a deeper understanding of the rich tapestry that is her roots.
In the past, I've worked primarily on paintings and drawing in either ink, acrylic, or watercolor. However, my practice has moved towards conceptualizing and developing art digitally, which allows me more flexibility and time to capture ideas related to people and their history. I use color, symbology, typography, and sometimes realism to capture themes and ideas in my digital art.
Jasmine - A Self Portrait is a digital piece that works to capture my heritage (Filipino and Turkish). The use of Jasmine flower represents both my name and is the national flower of the Philippines (Sampaguita). The textured background combines symbology found in famous Turkish and Filipino monuments and national flags and interconnects them into a tapestry, adding depth to the piece.
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Very nice! LoVe the use of symbols to create rich meanIngs.