Verbal communication is paramount to our experiences as individuals. However, what do those experiences look like when your range with language is limited? The ability to use words is intrinsic to our identity, so how is that identity defined? “You're not a real Filipino.” “Oh, so you're like whitewashed whitewashed?” Because I do not speak Tagalog, I hear statements like these often. These assertions overtly invalidate my status as a Filipino American, fostering a perpetual ostracization within the community I was born into. Through Whitewashed, I relive the experiences of unfamiliarity and isolation I've experienced due to not being bilingual. I am too American to be Filipino, but I am too Filipino to be American.

Typographic abstraction serves as a sanctum for me to explore the intricacies of language and how it relates to my cultural identity. In this project, text is abstracted using a keyboard. Every line and loop corresponds to a word derived from gestures created when swipe typing. These individual gestures connect to form sentences, then paragraphs. Every painting amalgamates into a unique page of text, unreadable to everyone but myself. Interacting with these artworks thrusts the observer into a world where comprehension remains elusive, mirroring my experience with language barriers.