Juliana Lumawig

Artist Statement

My art recently is explorative. I try different mediums in my classes, right now it’s ceramics and painting. Authenticity and absurdity inspire my practice. I admire art that gives an insight to the raw human experience while also being not so straightforward at first glance. I like art that requires you to think, to look at things in a different view other than your own.

Me, 2024

My first self-portrait in oil paint. This painting served as an official start to my journey with oil painting. In the time of this painting, I was enamoured by the loose, almost abstract brushwork of John Singer Sargent along with the likeness he captures these eccentric and sporadic strokes. In this painting, I explored oil painting techniques while participating in an established tradition of self-portraiture. What I found interesting looking at it now is the inherent presence of my “Filipino-ness”. My brother made an interesting point, that I have an ancient face. I had no intentions behind the concept of this painting other than to just depict myself, but afterward I realized I unintentionally depicted certain themes solely as a consequence of painting myself.