Artist Statement
Tamoria’s craft-based practice using readily available materials is a manifestation of the aesthetic resourcefulness and ingenuity deeply rooted in local culture. Taking hints from diverse sources ranging from costume design to fractal patterns in nature, she creates through the intricate process of problem solving, by modifying traditional techniques into strange new forms. This results in complex three-dimensional structures, close-knit representations of reality as seen from a rather quirky sensibility. By making and sharing on Facebook her sustainable outerwear made of old t-shirts, Tamoria has gained exceptionally high exposure. She has been featured in several radio and TV shows. Tamoria also creates fashion wear to sustain her art practice.
“This artwork is a part of my food series, in which I replicate food on fabric while keeping its original proportions. The subject for this piece is fish that has been gumaa-dried. Filipinos today see dried fish as a comfort food because it is readily available, inexpensive, and simple to prepare. Because of its cultural importance, I became interested in using food as an inspiration for my work.”
About Tekla Tamoria
Ma. Athela “Tekla” Tamoria graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts with a degree in Painting in 2010. After working in the corporate industry for two years, she enrolled in Garments classes in a local technical school to study tailoring. She was a featured artist in Art in the Park 2018 with her outdoor paper installation Colony. She was represented by Vinyl on Vinyl in the Asia Now Paris Art Fair in 2018. She also took part in Variation of the Fields, a group exhibition held in Vargas Museum in December 2019, and More than a Hat – a group exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in 2022. In her first solo show, Baby Girl X at Kaida Contemporary in 2018, she exhibited floor-length gowns constructed out of modular folded paper which she meticulously assembled over several years. She has further developed this wearable art motif in projects such as Alterbibo, Fortunata, Soft Ledge and Sisa Series animating the art objects with fictional personalities and performance. In her show Grace Period, she had to relearn casting and sculptural techniques to create unique mannequin-like characters fusing figurative representation and hard-edge geometric abstraction. In recent shows Tamoria creates intimate tapestry using embroidery, quilting and patchwork; the scene’s homage to vignetted matriarchs unveiling their domestic acts of hospitality for posterity.
