“My thesis, Sunlight in a Deep Forest, is an exhibition that situates the act of caring as a reciprocal process with lasting implications for both individual and collective identity. Cradled here is a knowledge that to care for another is also to be remade by them. Held at Mark Christopher Gallery from March 27 to April 17, Sunlight in a Deep Forest featured works by Aida De Guia, Miguel Caba, Patrick Cruz, Philip Leonard Ocampo, and Seden Lai. Central to the exhibition's conceptual framework is kapwa, a Filipino philosophical construct signifying a shared inner self. Within this context, subjectivity is understood as relational, emerging through interconnections rather than isolation. The movement from the singular “I” to a collective consciousness is facilitated by an awareness of oneself in others and the natural world. In this system, kinship functions as a sustaining force, it is sunlight—integral to the self and generative of warmth, growth, and renewal across generations. The forest, in turn, is conceived as a threshold space wherein life is continually constituted through relational processes, forming a tapestry of ancestors, memory, family, flora, fauna, and more-than-human networks.This project was developed during the final months of my Lola’s life as she underwent treatment for cancer, 'Lola' is the world referring to grandmother in the filipino language tagalog, and is dedicated to her lifelong embodiment of unconditional love and compassion. It is through her that I am, and it is my greatest honour to have her ground the exhibition and be included as one of the exhibiting artists. Collaborating with this extraordinary group of artists was transformative. Their vision and commitment propelled the project beyond the boundaries of my own imagination. Like the interconnected roots of a thriving forest, our collective efforts reached into new conceptual and emotional territories. This made the exhibition far richer and more resonant than I could have achieved on my own. Here, curatorial practice is a vital force. It is like sunlight streaming through the trees, revealing the intricate, often invisible webs of relation that sustain us all. ”