Disentangling dilemma of the diaspora
By Nabila Giovanna W

A&M's Fresh Faces is where we profile an emerging artist from the region every month and speak to them about how they kick-started their career, how they continue to sustain their practice and what drives them as artists. Read our profile on Philippine-American artist Faye Pamintuan here.

Faye Pamintuan in her studio in Texas, USA. Photo by E.J. Concepcion.

In 2018, you graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. At what point in your life did you decide to study and pursue a career in art?

I decided to pursue art seriously when I was a junior, or in my third year of high school in 2011. I had been interested in art as a kid, and up until that point I actually wanted to be a marine biologist and hoped to work with dolphins. It’s interesting now looking back that I can pinpoint the exact summer I fell in love with painting. It was the summer right before my junior year of high school and I distinctly remember locking myself up in my room and making watercolour paintings for my friends. I remember being the happiest during that time and how that summer went by quickly, because I wanted to get better and better at painting. Whenever I get discouraged or second-guess pursuing art as a career, I look back on that time to bring the excitement back into my work.

I also chose to be an artist because I have many interests in different fields such as physics, anthropology, and marine biology. I told myself that by being an artist, I have the reason to pursue and research all my different curiosities under the guise that it is all for my art and research practice.

You were born in Manila, the Philippines, grew up in Houston, USA, and have since returned to reside in Bulacan, the Philippines. In what ways does your diasporic background shape and influence your artistic practice? Could you share more about the ‘dilemma of the diaspora’ that is often mentioned in your works?

My diasporic background was the main reason why I turned to art; to make sense of my feelings, thoughts, and encounters as someone who did not quite fit in to the places that I lived in. Early on, many different people would tell me that because of certain things, such as my accent, the way I dressed, or the way that I viewed the world made me “not Filipino enough” or “not Texan enough” - something was always off or not exactly “right”. Because of this, I turned to painting where I could combine the places I called home. Itt was through art and the community of creatives that I found a place I belonged in.

This “dilemma” is the responsibility and burden of seeing both sides of the story: understanding how both sides of the coin are correct in a way, but also understanding because of one’s culture and upbringing, neither side can see the other. When I moved to the Philippines in 2012, it was the first time I heard people saying that America is not the greatest country in the world and that people actually hated it. I was someone who grew up in that very country and went through nine years of public school where we were taught that America was indeed the greatest. It was in that moment that I realised I had so much to learn and even more to unlearn.

“My diasporic background was the main reason why I turned to art; to make sense of my feelings, thoughts, and encounters as someone who did not quite fit in to the places that I lived in.”

Faye Pamintuan, ‘Chrysanthemum Crumble’, 2024, oil on canvas, 91 x 91cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

Could you give us a glimpse of how your day is like as an artist? What kind of routine do you follow to keep your creativity going?

I moved back home to Houston, Texas in September 2023 and because of this, my routine has changed a lot compared to when I was in my studio in Bulacan. I usually spend my mornings by writing morning pages. This is a practice that I started this year thanks to Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way. I did not write consistently before, but the physical process of writing down my thoughts first thing in the morning has allowed for a lot of clarity in my art practice.

I usually then read a chapter or two from a book I borrow from the local library, which is currently Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. I then respond to emails and tackle any logistical tasks I need to get done, so that by the afternoon, I can focus all of my attention on painting for the rest of the day. My routine varies from week to week as I go through different mediums such as colour pencils, watercolour, and oils. I find that having a rotation of mediums allows me to keep my workflow interesting, and each type ends up informing the other. Running and daily walks have also been super beneficial as I slowly become more grounded in the new space and city I am working in.

‘How Do You Say Goodbye’, 2023-2024, installation view. Image courtesy of Mono8 Gallery.

Art residency at Walkaway House. Photo by Carolyn Clayton. Image courtesy of the artist.

You recently had a solo show at Mono8 gallery titled ‘How Do You Say Goodbye’ (2023). How did the opportunity for the show come about? Besides showing paintings, you also displayed art books that you made, what was the idea behind pairing paintings with art books?

I have been working with Mono8 since 2018 and it was in their space in Ermita, Manila that I had the chance to exhibit my first solo show right after graduation. The show opportunity is a continuation of their ongoing support of my practice, and one that also bounces off my last solo show in the same space titled ‘The Ripples are Orange’ in November 2021.

‘How Do You Say Goodbye’ (2023) visualises my experience in coping with and saying goodbye to the last ten years I spent in the Philippines since moving there in 2012. Essentially, the show is a visual love letter to not only the place I call home, but also to the people and community that have shaped me both as a person and artist. I wanted to explore pairing writing along with my artworks. I collaborated with my writer and poet friends, Arielle Acosta, Andrea V. Tubig, and Lorenzo Alvendia to discuss the different aspects and emotions one has to go through in times of change and loss. I also wanted there to be a more intimate and slower read of my paintings as well, therefore creating artist books made the most sense.

In addition, I started the books while going through my artist residency at the Walkaway House in North Adams, MA. I had the chance to go through The Clark Museum’s collection of artist books from artists such as Kara Walker, Julie Chen, and Karen Hanmer which informed my decisions in creating the works.

In your works, you have explored various mediums such as oil paint, acrylic and watercolour. Are there any other mediums you wish to explore in the future?

I want to go back to printmaking and practice intaglio techniques such as etching and lithography. In the meantime, I am playing around with Gelli printing and going back to my love for color pencils. I also hope to learn how to create my own paper and explore the art of papermaking to compliment my interest in artist books. I realise that I constantly have a growing list of different techniques I want to learn. I do hope I live until I am a hundred, to be able to explore them all!

“I realise that I constantly have a growing list of different techniques I want to learn. I do hope I live until I am a hundred, to be able to explore them all! ”

OVERINKED team with Mrs. Angela Silva and Marz Aglipay. Image courtesy of the artist.

In late 2022, you co-founded OVERINKED, a printmaking studio in Quezon City. Could you share with us how the idea for OVERINKED came about? And how do you envision it to be in the future?

OVERINKED was founded with a group of my best friends from college who are fellow artists: Jam Rosal, Jone Sibugan, Poeleen Alvarez and Tammy De Roca. We are actually each other’s blockmates, meaning we have been making art together since our freshmen year in 2014!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we craved being in the same space and bouncing off of each other’s creative energy. We decided to meet weekly in Jam’s rooftop studio, relearning and sharing printing techniques and supplies with each other. We missed having access to an etching press and how this limited the amount of techniques we could explore. It was then that we realised that access to a printmaking studio closer to our homes in Quezon City would not only benefit our own practices, but also allow the rest of our community to learn about, appreciate, and support printmaking. OVERINKED was then formed to serve as a channel and space for learning about printmaking through workshops and print sales. Thanks to a grant awarded to us by the joint efforts of Limbag Kamay, Fundacion Sanso, Cartellino, and The Association of Pinoy printmakers, we now have an etching press for our community to access.

I hope through our efforts and space for channeling one’s creativity, art practices can be further supported by the greater public and government institutions. I hope that OVERINKED can play a part in enforcing and encouraging the public that art education is important and vital to the education system in the Philippines.

You are currently taking part in The Canopy Program, a fellowship at NYC Crit Club. Could you share more about the experience and how has it influenced you as an artist?

Being a part of the programme has been immensely helpful, providing me with numerous opportunities to practise speaking about my work to various critics and artists I look up to such as Katherine Bradford. Since I am in constant conversation with one cohort for a year, I receive well-informed opinions and feedback on my work right away.

It has also allowed me to cultivate an artist community here in the United States which is the best thing to have come out of the programme. A lot of the people in my cohort are artist mothers and I look up to them so much in terms of how they are able to be amazing artists, but also be there for their children and family. This gives me hope and proves to me that women can really do it all! It is a strong reminder to not listen to what others say, especially when society tells you that it is not possible to become a successful female artist with kids and a family. Witnessing and getting a chance to peek into the lives and daily struggles of the people in my group as both a woman and an artist remind me that I am not alone in this creative pursuit and it is all the more empowering and inspiring.

Who has been a mentor or an important artistic influence? And why?

I have not met artist Nadia Waheed but her work and her discipline of showing up to the studio despite the usual struggles of an artist has been so inspiring and encourages me to show up and do the work. I also have numerous women artists that I look up to constantly, such as Emma Webster, Erin Loree, Jorin de Voigt and artists in the Philippines such as Martha Atienza, Celine Lee, and Ev Yu.

What is one important piece of advice you have been given?

Different pieces of advice vary in importance in my life depending on what I experience in the moment. For now, it is the quote “leap and a net will appear” which I read in the book The Artist’s Way. I am currently going through many shifts and changes in my life, and I think having that constant faith and trust in myself that it will all work out allows me to take more risks in life and in turn take more risks in my artworks as well.

A couple of other ones that I have posted around the studio are from Katherine Bradford: “Be an artist with your eyes, not your brain” and Matt Philips’ advice to me when I confessed that I was getting bored with the medium I was using and he said that “boredom is actually a call to action”. I find it is helpful to have physical notes present in the space where I am creating as a grounding to keep on working through what I need to focus on in that specific moment.

Could you share your favourite art space or gallery in the Philippines? Why are you drawn to that space and what does it offer to you/your practice?

My favorite art spaces in the Philippines in terms of museums and institutions are the Vargas Museum in the University of the Philippines Diliman and the Metropolitan Museum in Manila . I am drawn to these spaces because they allow ample space for the artworks to be experienced. Since space is limited in Manila, it is not often that works are given breathing room, as artworks are usually crowded together. The Vargas Museum was one of the first art spaces that I visited in the Philippines, and it displays quality works that speak to the current societal issues the country is facing in an engaging way.

My favorite galleries are Artery Art Space, Gravity Art Space, and Mono8 Gallery. The first two spaces are both artist-run galleries which speak a lot about their commitment, and I am in awe of how they are able to serve not only their own artistic practices but also of their peers. The exhibitions and programming in all of them emphasise how they truly work for the artist and the community’s needs.

Works by Faye Pamintuan as part of ‘Of Shape and Form’ exhibition at Blanc Gallery, 2023, installation view. Image courtesy of the artist.

What are your hopes for the Philippines’ local art scene, and regionally as well?

I hope for the local art scene to have more engagement with the youth and push to provide platforms for more art education. I believe in starting conversations about the practice of observing and asking questions stemming from the curiosities of children because they are the greatest artists after all. I know there are already art spaces that encourage field trips and visits from local schools and I hope this continues to grow and expand. I hope for there to be more financial support and aid for artists from the government and institutions. Also for there to be more spaces that invite and cater to artists from the different regions in the Philippines such as in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Could you share your upcoming projects and goals that you wish to achieve in the future?

I am currently waiting on decisions from universities I have applied to in pursuit of my Master of Fine Arts degree. I would eventually like to become aprofessor in higher education. In terms of projects, I have the upcoming group show in Chelsea, NYC with NYC Crit Club and I am continually working with OVERINKED studio, though from afar, to have more workshops and programmes available for the public.

The interview is edited. Read other Fresh Faces interviews here.