kapwa
Kapwa is an immersive video installation that interrogates the Filipino-American relationship with its motherland, caused by the destroyed cultural heritage. Made in collaboration with Michaela Ternasky-Holland and Anna Luisa Petrisko.
Filipinos often self-identify as chameleons, blending in with our environment despite living and working across the world. Combining this with the stark lack of national history at the hands of colonization, a strong cultural identity is elusive for contemporary Filipinos. This in turn often casts us as invisible people to the wider public eye or mainstream media.
This distortion of culture bleeds into every aspect of the Philippine heritage: our languages, our food, our media, and even our self-image have adopted aspects of our geographical neighbors and dominant world powers.
Kapwa is a visceral representation of the loss of Filipino culture and a demonstration of the grieving process itself. The installation uses generative A.I. to imagine elements of culture and history that are missing. In other words, Kapwa shows us images that feel familiar, but are ultimately false: prosthetic versions of irretrievable lost artifacts.
Kapwa was the winner of Best Immersive Impact Project (International) at Doc Edge Awards 2025.
Technologies used: Touchdesigner, Stable Diffusion.
