Zebv Diez

Ikot ng Buhay I

In this animation, I 3D modelled a bow and arrow in reference to the Aeta people; these were the first known indigenous people in the Philippines. Through research, I found the Aeta people were known to be highly skilled hunters using the bow and arrow to survive warfare.It is thought that Aeta archery was the original Filipino martial art. They were resistant to Spanish colonialism and scattered through mountain terrains preserving their cultural traditions and beliefs.With this in mind, I animated these objects in my scene to pay homage to the first indigenous Filipinos, revering them through memory.

“Ikot ng Buhay is a three-part animation that references an excerpt from Brown Skin White Minds. In this book, the author explains the value we place on material objects, highlighting how items imported from the west are often held in higher regard compared to those created in developing countries. Which are often seen as counterfeit or degraded in ways that carry the narrative of the long colonial legacy the Philippines suffered for more than 300 years. With this in mind, as the artist, I work with the idea of decentralizing the colonial gaze in relation to the objects I've created and placed in these spaces.Ikot ng Buhay's title is a sentence in Tagalog that translates to the Life Cycle. I use this title in relation to my work as each animation describes a different perspective with the materials chosen for my work. Although the work is nuanced with the research made while creating these animations, gold and pearls have a significant meaning to Filipino culture. The south sea pearl is our national gem, a wonder of nature from our tropical shores, while gold (the Philippines is the second-largest deposit in the world) embodies the Filipino spirit. Soft, malleable metal bending to external forces without breaking or cracking, changing its form yet retaining its natural properties. A symbol of our resilience and ability to adapt and assimilate while preserving cultural identity. These two are iconography that is repeated in my animations.While creating this body of work, I had an anti-colonial approach to futurism. The chosen digital medium and aesthetic choices alluded to the pseudo-psychedelic dream-like state in these animations. There's a sense of incoherency with the visual choices made in the playful and nonsensical work.The environmental choice to place these items in a church setting was intentional; churches insight a kind of response or inclination to be reverent or held with care and respect. By placing items in this environment, the objects themselves turn into relics to be worshipped and adored. Becoming a proxy for minorities in predominantly white spaces; however, in this case, it decentralizes the idea of othering by associating the material as a holy object. There's also the intention of using the church under the context of Spanish colonization, where Spaniards forced Christianity on the precolonial Filipinos. Since then, the catholic faith has become intertwined with the culture, echoing the long-standing legacy of colonialism. It's an interesting juxtaposition of how faith rooted in goodness was brought upon by violent means. What do "savage" items mean to exist in such a sacred place? Does it become sacrilegious, or does it mend itself or reshape the notion of importance or coexistence?”