Pretty Pinay (Juxta Exhibit, Linya Art Gallery, 2006)
I've been collecting Philippine posters, paraphernalia, gift-wrappers and wallpapers - vintage ephemera since college. I've always thought of them as sort of puzzle pieces and if I somehow put them together it would help me make sense of the world.
Pretty Pinay is an attempt to illustrate the "pinay" or Filipina as she is perceived in Philippine society and abroad. The title "Pretty Pinay" was taken from an american expat who created this website to source out Filipinas as brides to foreign men. This growing business has whole Filipino families rooting for their sisters and even mothers to spend time flirting over the net for that lucky taker, posting all kinds of photographs and conducting illicit webcam conferences in private rooms just for this purpose. Now it may seem like a win/win situation for a desperate foreign man and a poverty-stricken Filipina to find each other and fulfill both needs, its not the case for a young Filipina whos forced to do things not of her will but of her family.
