Marissa Boutet
My artwork is about stories, whether they are retellings of folklore from my family’s home country or honest depictions of common experiences. Keeping stories from the past alive is just as important as telling new ones. In many of my artworks you will find folklore from the Philippines, depicted in varying formats and materials. A majority of my planning stage goes into researching different variations of the same story, the province of origin, and its cultural significance. As I create these visual retellings, I reconnect with my culture and my ancestors.
I explore these many stories through emotions: How can I be honest about the themes within this piece? How can I create something that not only speaks to me, but is still a broad enough topic to reach a wider audience? These are questions that I keep in mind as I work. Although I derive emotions of a piece from my own experiences, I try to keep the story of the artwork ambiguous enough so that the audience can insert themselves into the narrative. I explore many different emotions and themes, the various mediums and techniques I use are reflective of this. I think about the emotion of the piece, what material can best help communicate the themes to the audience. I spend time developing my ideas, reiterating the final product while still staying true to the story of the piece. I create stories to understand my own identity, and hope that others will find their own stories reflected in what I create.
