I was born and raised in a Filipino household, however, I grew up learning English as my first language. I can understand Tagalog, however I am incapable of speaking my native language. This barrier has caused a sense of detachment from me and my culture, and I am afraid I may not be able to pass down Tagalog to my future children. Despite this, I continue to explore and further understand my culture by watching Filipino TV and learning how to cook Filipino dishes at home with my parents.

The moment when I began my journey to pursue art was in grade 5 when I drew a cubism portrait inspired by Pablo Picasso. Later on that year my portrait was chosen to be displayed in the Art Gallery of Alberta for 1 year. I would say this has been one of my biggest achievements as an artist to this day.

In my downtime I enjoy binge-watching Netflix shows, baking, and painting mundane still lives and portraiture. Things that inspire and motivate me are cooking vlogs, Studio Ghibli films, pastries, and my boyfriend.

Jasmine Valdepenas is a Canadian Filipino artist based in Edmonton who is currently in her second year of the Fine Arts program at MacEwan University. Her current art practice revolves around the attention and interaction to feminism, identity, community, mental health, and culture. There is a sweet romantic aspect to her work that dives deep into a dark and bitter place.

Jasmine confronts societal expectations of the female body and the toxicity beauty standards create. Her creative work is mainly shown through videos and paintings where she explores these ideas of body image and identity through a cultural lens as a Filipino-Canadian.

She becomes vulnerable in her work through the exploration of her mental health and identity issues growing up as an Asian. She speaks out against racism and the detrimental effects it has carried throughout her life as a Filipino.

Jasmine performs in her videos to allow a more personal connection and experience with her work and its viewers. Her video performances entail a beautiful yet disturbing narrative that confronts and questions what it means to be human.