Alysha Aran

My painting connects to this year's theme of cultural diversity as lived experience through the clothing depicted on my lolo (grandpa in Tagalog). This painting is referenced from a photo my lola (grandma) took of my lolo cutting grass. I was interested in how he dressed himself for the chore - he took an empty dog food bag and wrapped it around his waist with a rope. I asked him why he was wearing a dog food bag, and he just told me it was for the pebbles that flew at him when he cut the grass. Keeping "garbage" like an empty dog food bag is a common practice I notice in Filipino and other immigrant cultures in Canada. We keep everything - things people deem as "garbage," because we may find a use for it eventually. My lolo repurposed this plastic bag as PPE for cutting grass, an ordinary sight that no one would question in the Philippines, but if done in Canada, might be questioned.