PhD candidate Abraham Ambo Garcia

I imagined this work (“Have mercy on us/Trip bless God our”) as a tribute to the Filipinos in Queensland, who are navigating their lives in the periphery but are important to Australian polity and its migrant heritage. The play of materiality using cut-out forms made through photographic works on vinyl and layers of patterned upholstery materials hint on their specific local narratives and experiences.

“Have mercy on us” is one of the works shown in the 2019 Oases exhibition that depicts the context of circumstance and crisis that embody the Filipino’s itinerant identity. It attempts to create anonymous ‘blood portraits’ of these local heroes, who manifest their familial sacrifice and spiritual resiliency as a result from cultural and economic displacements.

The images are formed by letting them touch the iPhone lens and recording their participation in this piece. The haptic processes, wherein the act of touching in generating the image; the transboundary techniques of printing and sewing-in together; and caress the Filipino soul of the audience are paramount in completing the piece

HDR candidate Karen Stone