Kerie Salingua
From the Jebel
From the Jebel is a blurred view of the small city that raised me. After immigrating halfway across the world nine years later, memories and souvenirs of what I once called home have since faded. The painting captures childhood nostalgia in its physical form, demonstrated through fuzzy brushstrokes and a dream-like colour palette. Labelled as an immigrant from a young age, I was held back from embracing all that this new land had to offer because of a developed fear of losing the past. This piece not only communicates a theme of innocence but indulges in the relationship between who we are as a result of where we came from.
Artist Biography
Kerie Salingua is a Filipino artist who grew up in Dukhan, Qatar. Through the use of mediums such as oil, acrylic, watercolour, and chalk pastel, she uses art to express personal experiences. Her paintings follow themes of childhood, immigration, and the AAPI experience. Having grown up in contrasting climates, many of her paintings consist of landscapes, where her diverse background instigated a fascination with the land – from the cloudless deserts to the chinooks upon mountain peaks. Upon immigrating to Calgary in 2014, her love for both art and history has since developed, where she currently studies Art History at the University of Calgary.
Artist Statement
The trauma of immigration is often overlooked, especially when Eurocentric values create the stigma of relocating to the Western sphere as solely a blessing. Because of this, I struggled with finding my identity, under the impression that there were only two options to choose from. As a Filipino-born, Qatar-raised, and Canada-living individual, I had spent a lifetime pondering the question, “Who am I?” Through a search for artistic inspiration in the hopes of discovering my style, I realized the distinctions of my three backgrounds subconsciously created a juxtaposition – where I was able to see things differently in each landscape because of my unique story.
How did you start your art practice?
My art journey starts at age five upon watching Barbie as Rapunzel for the very first time. My big brown eyes gazed at the opening scene of Barbie painting a seascape on an enormous canvas and wouldn’t dare blink at the later scenes featuring her magic paintbrush. At that moment, I knew I would do whatever it took to paint just like Barbie did.
Instagram: @strokesbykerie