Where I've Been

Where I’ve Been is a photomicrography project examining goods traded between the Philippines and Mexico during the Manila Galleon Trade, pairing microscopic images from both countries to explore transculturation and shared identity.

(WIP)

This ongoing photomicrography project examines products and ingredients traded between the Philippines and Mexico during the Manila Galleon Trade from 1565 to 1815, the transpacific route that connected Manila and Cebu to Acapulco for over 250 years. Using polarizing microscopy, these materials are photographed at a microscopic scale, transforming traded commodities into luminous abstracts.

In its current phase, materials that exist in both countries are photographed in each location and presented side by side as a single artwork, creating a visual dialogue between geographies, histories, and material memory. The project engages with transculturation and the layered processes of cultural exchange that shaped both societies.

Rooted in the artist’s lived experience between the Philippines and Mexico, the work is also a personal inquiry into identity, origins, and belonging. By examining the material traces of exchange, it seeks to understand shared histories beyond colonial narratives and to reclaim identity as something continually formed through connection and transformation.