Six graphite pencil drawing of dinner plates, each holding a different food or ingredient.

Prairiewood High School

Darug Country

Mere Morsels

Drawing

Graphite pencil on paper

We are what we eat and, equally, what we don’t eat.
Meals act as a class signifier, a core element of identity or celebration of culture. The idiosyncratic elements of my body of work are intended to invite contemplation of one’s heritage and evoke poignant memories. Within the consumerist attitudes and wealthy abundance of my current antipodean homeland, my drawings express a subtle story about my humble Filipino upbringing where simple food is consumed as a source of joy and community, yet never taken for granted. The broken plate represents sociocultural fragmentation and associations with time, place and status.

My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the artist CJ Hendry.

ARTEXPRESS 2024 is a collaboration between NSW Department of Education and NSW Education Standards Authority, curated and presented by Hazelhurst Arts Centre.