Unsettling Imaginaries: The Decolonial Diaspora Aesthetics of Four Contemporary Filipinx Visual Artists in Canada by Marissa Largo A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Social Justice Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Marissa Largo 2018 II Unsettling Imaginaries: The Decolonial Diaspora Aesthetics of Four Contemporary Filipinx Visual Artists in Canada Marissa Largo Doctor of Philosophy Social Justice Education University of Toronto 2018 Abstract In the dominant Canadian imaginary, Filipinx subjects are largely seen as serving the neoliberal priorities of the nation’s economy, which figure the Filipinx as always on the periphery of full national belonging. As a counternarrative, this study examines the practices and oral histories of four Filipinx artists in Canada: Leslie Supnet, Marigold Santos, Julius Poncelet Manapul, and Kuh Del Rosario. To understand the ways in which these racialized and diasporic artists respond to nonbelonging, the researcher utilizes contextual analysis that weaves together interpretations of the artists’ work and their oral histories, which are read through the lens of contemporary art criticism and cultural studies. Key findings reveal that these artists activate their discontent in productive ways that disrupt normative notions of whiteness, sexuality, gender, nuclear family, and nationalisms. Their subject positions are in excess to the dominant stereotypes that persist in the midst of racist and colonial discourses enmeshed in the political, social, and cultural dimensions of Canadian society. Further, this study suggests that Filipinx artists in Canada are complicating visibility politics by adopting non-objective and feminist self-representations. Taken together, this research evidences what the author calls a III “decolonial diaspora aesthetic.” Ultimately, they are unsettling dominant conceptions of Filipinx-ness that work to manage difference within the nation’s white settler colonial dominance. The study capaciously draws implications for pedagogy, as this project offers new imaginaries that take into account race, diaspora, and difference in ethical ways that promote antiracism and decolonial relations in Canada. IV Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitute to Professor Roland Sintos Coloma for his incredible personal, professional, and academic support. I have been inspired not only by Dr. Coloma’s scholarly practice, but also by his commitment to community-building, social justice, and knowledge mobilzation. He continued to see me through my PhD studies even after his departure from the University of Toronto, and I thank him for his immense generousity, for believing in me and my work, and for pushing me beyond my comfort zone to imagine new theoretical directions for my project that I would have never realized without his guidance. To the rest of my thesis committee: Professor Stephanie Springgay and Professor Richard Fung. I have modeled my praxis as an educator, researcher, artist, and curator along the lines of Dr. Springgay’s cutting-edge interventions in critical art education, arts-based research, and contemporary art criticism. I have long been inspired by Professor Fung’s life work and I hope that my inteventions contribute to the movements in equity and the visual arts in Canada that he has been intrumental in establishing. Thank you for asking the sharp questions and for the stimulating discussions. I wish to express my gratitude to Professor Rubén Gaztambide- Fernández, my internal examiner, for his valuable work in artistic education and decolonization that have helped shape my perspectives. Thank you to my external examiner, Professor Sarita See, who has profoundly influenced my thinking about Filipinx diasporic art. I could not have envisaged a more dynamic team for my committee. To Professor Robert Diaz, thank you for providing me with valuable opportunities to work alongside you and to learn how to navigate the often bumpy terrain of academic work. Dr. V Diaz has been significant in shaping my theoretical perspectives and has been an enlightening interlocoteur and professional mentor to me. To the Department of Social Justice Education, particularly Department Chair, Dr. Abigail Bakan and Graduate Liaison Officer, Sezen Atacan: thank you for advocating for me and guiding me through the administrative side of my studies. To my Social Justice Education colleagues: Fritz Pino, Jaclyn San Antonio, David Pereira, Shamette Hepburn, Sophia Papastavrou Faustmann, Ken Huynh, and Eunice Chow. You have made my graduate studies experience less isolating and infinitely more enjoyable. I won’t soon forget our “boot camps” and decadent dinners. Thank you for the intellectual and emotional encouragement and comradery. I am indebted to the astounding artists of my study: Julius Poncelet Manapul, Marigold Santos, Kuh Del Rosario, and Leslie Supnet. It has been a complete honour to think and write about their respective practices, to bear witness to their oral histories and to theorize about their production as they relate to Filipinx-ness in Canada and beyond. Maraming salamat. To my family: Teresita and Jacinto Largo, Christina and Bernard Bennell, and June Grace Garrido, thank you for the constant support and for being there for my children. To Carlo and Lorena: at the beginning of my PhD journey, neither of you existed. As I reflect back, the sleepless nights, balancing act of mothering, research, and writing has been placed in perspective in relation to the grander scheme of things because of you. This process has been enlivened by your presence in my life. While I am proud of all the work that I have accomplished in last six years, I am even more proud to be your mother. To Sean, you have witnessed my lowest lows and highest highs. Thank you unfettered support, love, and for being my rock. This disseration is dedicated to all of you. I would also like to acknowledge that this project was supported in part by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Lastly, I would like to thank the VI publishers of the following pieces for permission to reproduce parts of previously published material: Largo, M. (2015). A country that does not exist. Asian diasporic visual cultures and the Americas, 1(1–2), 108–130. https://doi.org/10.1163/23523085-00101006 Largo, M. (2017). Reimagining Filipina visibility through 'Black Mirror': The queer decolonial diasporic aesthetic of Marigold Santos. In R. Diaz, M. Largo, & F. Pino (Eds.), Diasporic intimacies: Queer Filipinos and Canadian imaginaries (pp. 99-117). Evanston: Northwestern University Press. Copyright© 2018 by Northwestern University Press. Published 2018. All rights reserved. VII Table of Contents Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... iv Foreword.........................................................................................................................................x List of Figures............................................................................................................................. xvi Chapter 1 – Introduction: Between the Caregiver and the Savage: Filipinx Visualities in Canada 1.1 Research Questions……………………………………………………………………….…12 1.2 Decolonial Diaspora Aesthetics…………………………………………………………..…14 1.3 Decolonial Diaspora Aesthetics: Filipinx Artists in Canada………………………………..16 1.4 The Current Filipinx Artistic Moment in Canada……………………………………..…….21 1.4.1 Vancouver: Kuh Del Rosario……………………………….……………………………..22 1.4.2 Winnipeg: Leslie Supnet………………………………………………………………..…24 1.4.3 Toronto: Julius Poncelet Manapul…………………..…………………………………….25 1.4.4 Montreal: Marigold Santos ……….…………………………...….………………………27 1.5 Organization of the Thesis……….……………………….…………………………………30 Chapter 2 – Analytical and Interdisciplinary Framework………………………….………..….33 2.1 Introduction to Analytical and Interdisciplinary Framework………………………….……33 2.1.1 Disrupting Dominant Narratives in Art History and Pedagogy……………………….…..36 2.1.2 Critiquing Globalization………………………….……………………………………….38 2.1.3 Contesting Nationalisms and National Belonging………………………….……………..39 2.1.4 Troubling of Normative Subjectivities of Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality, Ethnicity, and Culture………………………….…………………………………………….…………………42 Chapter 3 – Literature Review………………………….……………………………………….45 3.1 Reframing Art Histories: Alternatives to the Western Narratives ………………………….45 3.2 Diaspora and the Aesthetic Practices of Diasporic and Racialized Artists……………….…47 3.3 Black Diaspora Aesthetics………………………….…………………………………….…51 3.4 Asian North American Cultural Production………………………………….……..………62 3.5 Filipinx Diasporic Cultural Production…………………………………….……….………66 3.5.1 Filipinx Corporeality………………………….………………………………..…………67 3.5.2 Discourses of Indigenization and Decolonization………………………….…..…………70 3.6 Concluding Remarks for the Literature Review………………………….…………………81 Chapter 4 – Methodology……………………………………………………...………………..82 4.1 Oral History………………………….……………………………………………………...82 4.2 Participant Selection Criteria and Recruitment………………………….……………….…85 4.3 Data Collection and Analysis………………………….……………………………………89 4.4 Contextual Analysis………………………….……………………………………………...93 Chapter 5 – The Discontented Diasporan: The Moving Images of Leslie Supnet’s gains + losses………………………………………………………………………..………………...…96 5.1 Utang na Loob as Affective Impulse………………………….………………………….…99 5.2 Discontented Diasporan………………………….………………………………………...101