Kain Ka Na? / Have You Eaten Yet?

24 x 24”

Oil Paintings on Wood

2023

“Have You Eaten Yet?” is a series of oil paintings on wood and it was based off  the plate of a potluck at my family functions. Each piece of wood was painted on the front and back, and has a different story with my relationship with food. 

For example, I didn’t eat rice as a kid because I used to use it as glue and mold overtook one of my projects. When I began eating it again, it was because my grandma made sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, so that is why you see an abstraction of white and green on a small square block of wood.

The highlighting point of this work is what the food looks like after it is eaten. The crumbs were a sign that I ate, and the side where it depicts the unfinished food made me proud to have eaten.