Artist Statement
“On my worst days, I have felt grey. I felt like the color. Those who have lived in the grey know what it’s like to live as a shell of yourself—showing up where it’s necessary, completing chores, tasks, even graduating from schools, but still never really living. One day, I was laying in the grass and looking up at the trees, I realized how much I loved the shade of green when the sun peeked through the leaves. When I thought about how much I loved that green, I realized how many years it had been since I had a favorite color. Since then, a daily practice in my life that has changed it for the better is choosing what my favorite colors of the day are. It became a simple practice of joy to pronounce the coveted colors as my favorite: I looked at CTA signs, on the sides of garbage trucks, even the reflections of light in the Chicago River. As a precursor to the Maganda photo series, my painted self-portraits were a method of processing moments I feel the most disconnected from myself. Through painting the colors I noticed that day, I saw myself through changes, heartbreaks, falling in love, celebrations, and everything in between. I wrestle with how narcissistic I may appear with yet another set of art about me. But the lesson I’ve learned through this year of color, is that no matter the colors I felt, I was still able to celebrate with every final creation. These are the colors of me! Gratitude to JP Quindara of Pogi Studios making this vision come to life.”
About Leanna Campos
Leanna Campos is a Chicago-based artist born in Davao City, Philippines. She is inspired by small joys in her everyday life, her individual and cultural history, symbolism through color, and plants. Her work aims to uncover facets of her identity, personal and shared, through fashion, painting, and storytelling. Her previous works have been featured in the local Wendy’s outside of her elementary school, and the East Lansing Public Library – Children’s wing.
Born in Mindanao, the island home to the Bagobo tribe. The Bagobo live around the highest peak in Davao, called Mt. Apo or Apo Sandawa to the tribal peoples. The people of the Bagobo tribe have a rich culture, with customs and traditions weaved into the nature that surrounded them. They are known for being colorful people, and their intricate beadwork, stitchwork, and the bells attached to their clothing. The clothes I’m wearing were lent to me from my Tita Ellen Maguad. Sugod Uno, or the Bagobo Rice Cycle, is a traditional dance performed in this attire that portrays rituals to give thanks to deities for a bountiful rice harvest.
