THE GALLERY

OUR ROOTS:
FROM ISLAND TO ISLAND

I am from Camiguin Island in the Philippines, and I have lived in Honolulu, Hawai‘i since 2010. No matter how long I have been away from the waterfalls and forests of my first island home in the Bohol Sea, I remember my roots, my people, and my sense of balance with the natural world around me, even as I live in the largest metropolis in the Central Pacific.

I was raised by my grandfather. He designed my clothes, headbands, and accessories with what we collected, such as shells, seeds, nice stones, unique pieces of wood, rods, fibers and rope. He valued education and he worked hard to have his family go further than the options that were available to him in his life. As a farmer, he was immersed in the cycle of the seasons and the rhythms of life. He is no longer with us, but his love towards me has never left me. I was his “Jovvy” and his first name “Sevirino”. Everything we produce has its roots in his love and hard work.