UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology APRIL 2023 - Flipbook - Page 11
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
“Mahal Kita,” which means “I love you”
in Filipino, is the final collage in the
current series and pays homage to her
late Filipino mother, a woman she looks
similar to. The piece draws from Filipino
culture and allows Katasi to explore this
aspect of herself. “Mahal Kita” reclaims
the Imelda Marcos-commissioned Coconut
Palace, a controversial show of excess in
an impoverished country. The broom at
the lower-lefthand corner highlights the
domestic care and labor expectations put
upon Filipino women. Hand placement of
the scooter passenger suggests intimacy
between the two women, especially since
the driver holds our gaze with a smirk. While
the openness about implying the women
are queer may strike an American viewer as
bold, the Philippines have a long history of
openness toward the LGBTQ+ community.
By collaging the women in as larger than the
men, and disproportionately large against the
Palace, the parts of Filipino culture worthy
of celebration transform and reclaim the
Palace—and all the Palace represents about
excess and shutting out the downtrodden—
for those who have always been shut out.
in multiple homes and public spaces. She
hopes she is “challenging the mental model”
by creating works to make the exclusionary
aspect of architecture and land into
something attainable. Simultaneously, she is
able to print limited series in different sizes.
Her works start at $100 for a postcard 4x5”
print, $400 for 16x20”, $600 for 24x30”, and
$2,000 for very limited-run 30x40” canvas
prints.
https://www.katasikulubya.com ☐
Contributed by: Ciara Shuttleworth
Ciara Shuttleworth is an alumnus of the prestigious San Francisco
Art Institute. She has worked for three prominent San Francisco
fine art galleries. Additionally, she has provided art consulting
for private and corporate collections, including Google. She is
also a published writer with works in the Norton Introduction
to Literature and The New Yorker. Her most recent book is the
poetry collection, Rabbit Heart.
Artwork © 2023 Katasi Kulubya
Katasi believes that all should be able
to purchase art, and since her work is
democratized already by being digital in
inception, it does not lose impact by being
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