As a maker, I'm always curious about the process behind pieces I encounter. "In The Making" is a series that shares the often unseen parts of the make, taking you behind the curtain to see pieces in development and the thoughts behind them.
These are the first pieces of the Panali series, in the making.
In softly, firmly, a group show where these pieces were first exhibited, I explore how Filipino values I admire are reflected in “panali” (any material used for tying).
Each trip to the palengke stirs a quiet thrill. I wander through stalls, drawn into conversations with vendors—curious about the origins, materiality, and uses of their goods. These small exchanges unfold into intimate lessons about Filipino culture—through Sorsogon.
1.1 Left: What I brought home from the palengke—rubber strips, abaca twine, and a pouch made of abaca. Right: Unraveling a piece of abaca from the pouch.
It was in one of those trips when I noticed vivid strips of rubber, narrow and wide. They brought back memories of boat rides, rubber strips stashed in corners—binding fishing tools and ready to patch, fasten, repair. Around here, they're everywhere: tying crops, securing goods, bringing order to market produce.
1.2 Trinket dishes after final firing in the kiln, pre-tying with rubber. One brown dish with abaca, finished, peeks in the corner.
Abaca, a native fiber from banana plants abundant in Bicol, serves a similar purpose. Resistant to saltwater, it's ideal for fishing nets and is woven into mats, bags, and home decor. In our region, crafting with abaca is both a livelihood and a form of artistry.
These ties—rubber or fiber—reflect deeply held Filipino values: resourcefulness, care, and creativity. Tying isn't just a task, it's a gesture of keeping things whole, of preserving what we have. Whether mending tools or bundling harvests, it's a way of saying things still matter, still have use.
More than practical, these materials root us in place. They speak of a life intertwined with land and sea, shaped by tradition.
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These pieces joined softly, firmly at Galerie Stephanie in May 2025. View the show documentation here.