Asia Ruggiero

Philip Leonard Ocampo

Philip Leonard Ocampo is an artist and arts facilitator based in Tkaronto, Canada. Ocampo’s multidisciplinary practice involves painting, sculpture, writing and curatorial projects. Exploring worldbuilding, radical hope and speculative futures, Ocampo’s work embodies a curious cross between magic wonder and the nostalgic imaginary. Following the tangents, histories and canons of popular culture, Ocampo is interested in how unearthing cultural touchstones of past / current times may therefore serve as catalysts for broader conversations about lived experiences; personal, collective, diasporic, etc.Two works from Ocampo are featured as part of the exhibition Sunlight in a Deep Forest, on view at Mark Christopher Gallery March 27 to April 17 2026. Curated by Asia Ruggiero. Documentation by Philip Leonard Ocampo.

“Philip Leonard Ocampo, Hymn, 2026. Acryla gouache on adhered images on panel. Highest point 12, x 52 in. Philip Leonard Ocampo, Hymn, 2026. Acryla gouache on adhered images on panel. Highest 11 x 32 in.As a practice of celebration, communion, and familial intimacy, karaoke has long shaped experiences of contemporary Filipino identity. In Hymn (2026), the iconic yellow subtitles of 1990s karaoke videos are stretched, fractured, and reassembled against the scenic backdrops from those same videos. Lyrics explode into expressive cursive lines, atomizing them into percussive code that transcends language in pursuit of a greater emotional catharsis. ”