|
Statement
Panic Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Depression, Environmental Illness, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, stomach disorders
I am a non-binary queer and disabled Filipinx human from Chicago, IL. My disability identity, along with the other intersectional aspects of my identity shape my art, organizing work, the people with whom I surround myself, and the community I foster. I am the creator of Rebirth Garments, a line of gender non-conforming wearables and accessories that include the full spectrum of gender, size and ability. Rebirth Garments challenges mainstream beauty standards that are gender binary, sizest, ableist, and racist by using the ideology of Radical Visibility as a guide. Radical Visibility is an unapologetic refusal to assimilate, a claim to our bodies, and a celebratory insistence on highlighting the parts of us that society typically shuns. Rebirth Garments embodies Radical Visibility through the use of bright colors, exuberant fabrics, and innovative designs. My newest exploration of Radical Visibility is through editing The Radical Visibility Zine, a magazine for QueerCrip teens based off Radical Visibility: A QueerCrip Dress Reform Movement Manifesto. I also have a BFA with an emphasis in Fibers, Fashion and Performance from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Chainmaille is a signature part of Rebirth Garments wearables and is central my process as a disabled artist. The intensive and repetitive handwork of chainmaille has been the catalyst to every other medium that I pursue, and I experience the slow and thoughtful process as healing to my mind and a way to gain patience and the strength to be social. Rebirth Garments is my soft armor. This armor does not protect against harm, but is a way to give me courage. I understand clothing, especially the foundation garment closest to our skin, to be our second skin. This foundation has the power to change the way we hold ourselves and give us the confidence and strength to feel comfortable in our first skin.
Instead of centering on cisgender, heterosexual, white, thin, able bodied/minded people, Rebirth Garments is centered on QueerCrip identity. QueerCrip is a politicized umbrella term that encompasses queer and gender nonconforming identities as well as apparent and non-apparent disability identity. Centering QueerCrip identity builds coalition between queer and disabled people and recognizes the common experiences that we have as well as the unique experiences of queer and disabled people.
Instead of a typical stoic runway style, my “fashion shows” are more like celebratory dance parties that feature models who are local and of various marginalized identities. I believe that feeling confident in one’s outward appearance can revolutionize one’s emotional and political reality. Thus, I use Rebirth Garments as a way to nurture a community of people who have often been excluded from mainstream fashion and to provide a platform for people to confidently express pride in their identity.
|