Hanging from a washing line, Anya Jocson places everyday objects that contain nostalgia and emotionally linking her to the Filipino household she grew up in, in Cyprus. These are ordinary things that usually were brought back as gifts by her mother as subtle reminders of their distant home, the Philippines. Holding on to these objects, Jocson tries to stay connected to her parents motherland, which was once visible through these objects and through their language, Tagalog. Made out of cardboard, glazed tiles and grout, the displayed towels and clothings are heavy and weigh down the delicate washing lines. If they fall, they could break, just like memories they are fragile and can be lost.

Artist statement

Hanging from a washing line, Christine Anya Jocson places everyday objects that contain nostalgia and emotionally linking her to the Filipino household she grew up in, in Cyprus. These are ordinary things that usually were brought back as gifts by her mother as subtle reminders of their distant home, the Philippines. Holding on to these objects, Jocson tries to stay connected to her parents motherland, which was once visible through these objects and through their language, Tagalog. Made out of cardboard, glazed tiles and grout, the displayed towels and clothings are heavy and weigh down the delicate washing lines. If they fall, they could break, just like memories they are fragile and can be lost.

Halika na! Sampay na tayo! Is an installation that resembles objects that developed mnemonic characteristics over time, through the experience of mobility and migration. Halika na! Sampay na tayo! Translates to Come! let's hang the clothes! and it's one of the few household sentences Jocson would say in Tagalog. By honouring and centralising her cultural heritage, Jocson shows the continuous cycle of the Filipino diaspora in this homely setting.

Ambitions

I've always wanted to create art that is more accessible to the general public. Public who do not go to the white cube galleries. In the next five years I would want to make my art more community involved.

Learned during the studies

The most important thing I've learned these past years, is to remain honest to my work and to not compare my work to others.

BALIKBAYAN

Senses of home and extended homes, that can be generated by everyday materials and objects, like a labeled cardboard box, a specific patterned tile or a can of spam. In contexts of mobility, relocation and migration such objects can represent links with home, loved ones and the autobiographical past, providing a sense of identity continuity.
In this artistic research report I will examine concepts of memory through objects and mobility in the art works I have produced over the past year in HKU. By taking you with me through my personal experiences and my artistic process. How the Filipino diasporic experience has influenced my choices and decisions in my art.