Uni at Ugat | Sounds and Roots | 2026

This is the beginning of my self portrait series, which will eventually be a poetry film and installation.

As music is my first creative voice, I decided it was important to explore precolonial Filipino instrumentation, rhythms and melodies. When I went to a 4.5 day music workshop in Hawaii in May 2026, held by House of Gongs, called 'Uni at Ugat' (translated from two Filipino languages meaning 'sounds and roots') I felt a deep calling. It wasn’t just sounds, it was the call from my ancestors. It was the call from the land, the call from the sea.

I am only at the beginning of this type of journey, but this self portrait is a representation of rooting myself in original sound.

From the kulintang gong, to the baybayin script, from the gold that adorns me, to the colour of my skin, and my hands which are instruments of my soul