Washington St Underpass

“This mural is a triptych depicting my grandmother, my mother, and myself. Three generations of powerful women standing guard under the bridge to protect and watch over travelers passing by. 🙌🏼⁣
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Each one of us is dressed in traditional Filipino attire and each attached to something special. 🇵🇭✨⁣
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My Lola (grandmother) is holding a pan de sal, a Filipino sweet bread bun. She always used to say “when they throw stones, throw bread back.” Behind her is a giant butterfly/moth. These creatures are symbols of our ancestors and our loved ones returning to earth to visit and protect us. My Lola’s biggest weapons were her kindness and faith. 🦋 ⁣
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My Nanay (mother) is seen wearing pearls and petting a carabao (water Buffalo). The carabao is the national animal of the Philippines and symbolizes resiliency, strength, and unyielding stubbornness. The pearls are famous in our culture and are the beautiful result of what we can make from years of pressure. 🐃 ⁣
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The middle figure is a self portrait of myself (ang anak – the child) wielding a fan and the sun rising behind me. The fan is a symbol of underestimation. The fan was used in our culture as a way to flirt with men and communicate our marital/relationship status. Asian women are so often fetishized and expected to be meek, submissive, and weak. We are often seen as nothing but objects that make good wives. I am reclaiming the fan as a symbol of feminine power and autonomy, rather than a symbol of flirtation. The sun, a prominent symbol of the Filipino flag, rises behind me to wholly claim my culture as my biggest source of identity and power. 🌞”⁣
⁣- Anna