Title

: V-XII: 2:35 PM
Zoren Romero
Oil on Canvas
48 Inches x 36 Inches

Something About the Artwork:

V-XII: 2:35 PM is the beginning of releasing tension from grief, loneliness, heartbreak, and to hope for better
days. It focuses on three subjects and a single space--the cane, the chair, the flowers on it, and where it is located. It
narrates the absence of the owner of the place, the wise old woman, who is also a sister to her siblings, a mother to her
children and a grandmother to her grandchildren. It is going through the process of mourning. The owner of the chair
is represented by flowers, which she adored so much even though she herself is not there anymore. The cane
represents that she’s an elderly individual who needs a support to walk properly, and the number of flowers
symbolizes us, our family. The flower on the floor symbolizes her departing. I know that this artwork does not
specifically discuss any current issue, but it is an inevitable experience that would someday happen to each and every
one of us. I paint because I didn’t know I was able to paint. I wanted to become someone who can make an impact to a
lot of people’s lives because I know that is my purpose in life. My mother was one of the first people who believed that.
In this artwork, I want to honor my adoptive mother. Though this painting may suggest a sad picture, the flowers on
that chair also represents hope for better days. My mother may be gone, but her legacy and her ways of teachings is
carried by us. This artwork is a narrative about the beginning of another journey in our family’s life.

As an artist, I’m always fascinated with telling stories that define my character and the way I observe the
events that are happening around me. The process of jotting down simple notes on my notebook, processing
information from the stories someone told me from family, friends, and other people I have in contact with, or events
that I participated where I meet new people and learn from the stories that they share. My art defines the reality of
lives, emotions, and the process that other people may go through or I go through. It celebrates the learning experience
of the ups and downs of it. It’s my unleash of restraint from the boundaries or the borderlines of society from telling
us or me, in what should I or what I shouldn’t speak about. It helps me to participate and collaborate with a different
variety of groups, organizations, and people I meet and get connected to. My own art speaks the truth of experiences,
a release of emotions. It lets me invite people to peek, see, and discuss experiences that sometimes are hard to
communicate from within. It is childlike, always asking for someone to listen to it, always longing for something and
even asking people to notice it. Always honest and never intimidating. Chaotic and at the same time, emotions are
balanced and the story can be felt. Basically, I’m defining myself as a very emotional artist. My own art allows me to
tell life as I experienced it, whether it is social, political, or personal. It allows me, as a person, to unleash my own take,
my own voice, and what I want to communicate through my vision and the visuals that I present to the audience. It is
a discussion that I’m always hoping for growth and maturity as an artist and as a human being, as well as a better
understanding of our own cultural norms and deviances in our society as Filipinos.