AIREEN ARELLANO Grief, Promise, Rebirth #2 (2024)

AIREEN ARELLANO
Grief, Promise, Rebirth #2 (2024)
Mixed media
12” x 12”
$600

ARTIST STATEMENT:
Reflectively constructed in layers, this piece features mixed media to explore themes of grief, promise, and rebirth. The GRIEF element reflects loss through a miscarriage I experienced in May 2024. Grief is also inflicted by generational trauma of silence and distance. The PROMISE is one that I make directly to my 4-year-old daughter and future children in the form of a code of conduct. That promise unfolds the last theme, REBIRTH, which is also two-fold: One is to transform grief into resolve and nurture my daughter into a confident golden butterfly. And the other is the rebirth of my lost baby who now flies with her ancestors. The cultural elements of the Philippines – traditional butterfly sleeves, textures that evoke textile patterns, and the use of Filipino flag colors – are a promise to my child to proudly teach her about her heritage, history, and culture.

ARTIST BIO:
Aireen Arellano’s work explores themes of juxtaposition, Filipino American identity, belonging, healing generational trauma, and pop culture. A child of 1st generation Filipino immigrants, she was born in Chicago in 1983 and lived in Marquette Park until her parents moved her family to the southwest suburbs in the early 1990s. Influenced by the Pop Art and Bauhaus movements, her mediums are as varied as her interests. She works with mixed media, texture, bold colors, pattern, photography, portraiture, and lettering. Arellano is also a multidisciplinary brand and font designer, running a brand agency that supports women-and-BIPOC-friendly startups and is the founder of the 1st woman-and-Filipino-American-owned font foundry in the U.S.