Somewhere, someday when we are the sea

The Stories that Weren’t Told 2019 and Somewhere, someday when we are the sea 2021 (illustrated) are paintings on copper panels. These complementary works respond to the biblical tale of Adam and Eve in Paradise and the Filipino creation story of Malakas at Maganda (The Strong and the Beautiful). Malakas at Maganda recounts how the first man and woman emerged from a split stalk of bamboo, as two parts of one whole, with the desirable attributes for each gender implied by the title. Even at a young age, Paje felt she did not fit or aspire to this mould. Her practice displays an awareness of the ways in which such myths are often partial perspectives, reinforcing inequality and gender specificity, as well as prevalent social, cultural and historical stereotypes.
Each work depicts a landscape merging tropical and temperate vegetation around a central pool or lake. The compositions are bordered by a glimpse of cityscapes and populated by ‘primordial’ beings – human vessels unbound by gender and filled with limitless and mysterious seascapes. The paintings take their form from traditional Catholic altarpieces – the triptych and a polyptych of multiple linked panels – and are painted on copper, a material that asserts the endurance of Paje’s work and vision for a different form of paradise.
These large-scale paintings reflect Paje’s perspective on gender and difference, as well as the diverse cultural and historical influences that have shaped the Philippines as a nation. In retelling accepted stories, her intention is to create a new visual space in which marginalised peoples can re-envisage their past, present and future.