Becoming DecolonialThe Living Journal of IJWBAA
PHASE I: INCEPTION
To Begin is to Break"I didn’t set out to be a digital artist. I was trying to survive. But in pixels, I found a way to disobey what I was taught to see as beautiful." - pao
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Snowflakes (August 2022) is a raw, pixelated self-affirmation born from illness and instinct, where IJWBAA subverts tradition through vibrant digital abstraction and intuitive decolonial expression.
Choosing Pixels Over PaintAugust 8, 2022
I came to digital art not by choice but by necessity. In August 2022, my health made brushes and canvases impossible. So I picked up an iPad—and discovered a new form of life.I was never formally trained. I didn’t know how to “paint correctly,” and that ignorance became my greatest strength. I wasn’t trying to imitate reality; I was trying to feel it. Through pure instinct, I stumbled into a language no one taught me.These first pieces were rough and honest—distorted shapes layered with glitch textures, subverting every rule I’d ever heard about proportion or perspective. They didn’t aim for polish or perfection. They only had one message: “I’m still here.”In hindsight, this was my earliest act of decolonization—not in academic terms, but in spirit. I broke the old rules before I even knew they existed.
I came to digital art not by choice but by necessity. In August 2022, my health made brushes and canvases impossible. So I picked up an iPad—and discovered a new form of life.I was never formally trained. I didn’t know how to “paint correctly,” and that ignorance became my greatest strength. I wasn’t trying to imitate reality; I was trying to feel it. Through pure instinct, I stumbled into a language no one taught me.These first pieces were rough and honest—distorted shapes layered with glitch textures, subverting every rule I’d ever heard about proportion or perspective. They didn’t aim for polish or perfection. They only had one message: “I’m still here.”In hindsight, this was my earliest act of decolonization—not in academic terms, but in spirit. I broke the old rules before I even knew they existed.
“Children of Meta” by IJWBAA is a playful digital abstraction of childhood that reflects identity and togetherness in the age of the metaverse.
Healing in High ResolutionSeptember 15, 2022
My first real breakthrough was this simple truth: color heals.I began layering saturated neons and flat color blocks, pairing vibrating contrasts that felt almost too loud to look at. At first glance, some might call it “too much.” But every imperfect gradient, every unexpected clash, was an unfiltered view of my inner landscape.These choices weren’t just aesthetic—they were radical. Why must beauty be muted and orderly? Who decided chaos wasn’t divine?My digital canvas became a kind of self-scan, an honest read-out of my scars and hopes. Each swipe of color was a refusal to be confined by Western ideals of “balance” and “restraint.”Looking back now, I see that this was more than physical recovery. It was decolonial healing—shattering the visual norms I’d internalized and reclaiming my own sensual, unruly palette.
My first real breakthrough was this simple truth: color heals.I began layering saturated neons and flat color blocks, pairing vibrating contrasts that felt almost too loud to look at. At first glance, some might call it “too much.” But every imperfect gradient, every unexpected clash, was an unfiltered view of my inner landscape.These choices weren’t just aesthetic—they were radical. Why must beauty be muted and orderly? Who decided chaos wasn’t divine?My digital canvas became a kind of self-scan, an honest read-out of my scars and hopes. Each swipe of color was a refusal to be confined by Western ideals of “balance” and “restraint.”Looking back now, I see that this was more than physical recovery. It was decolonial healing—shattering the visual norms I’d internalized and reclaiming my own sensual, unruly palette.
“Wong Family” by IJWBAA is a minimalist digital portrait that uses bold geometric forms and a vibrant color palette to celebrate familial unity, identity, and emotional connection through abstraction.
Why I Couldn’t Paint Like the OthersDecember 5, 2022
By December, I still felt like an outsider. No art school. No local collective. No landscapes, portraits, or “pretty” subjects.While my peers created work that looked comfortably “artistic,” mine resembled glitches, maps of emotion, and things trying desperately to heal themselves.I used to see that as a shortcoming. Now I recognize it as freedom. In my world, there were no gatekeepers to tell me what belonged on the canvas. So I did whatever I needed to do.My approach—minimal yet loud, untrained yet sincere—was never a lack of culture. It was a reclamation of one. I was unlearning every rule I’d ever absorbed and forging a new path forward.
By December, I still felt like an outsider. No art school. No local collective. No landscapes, portraits, or “pretty” subjects.While my peers created work that looked comfortably “artistic,” mine resembled glitches, maps of emotion, and things trying desperately to heal themselves.I used to see that as a shortcoming. Now I recognize it as freedom. In my world, there were no gatekeepers to tell me what belonged on the canvas. So I did whatever I needed to do.My approach—minimal yet loud, untrained yet sincere—was never a lack of culture. It was a reclamation of one. I was unlearning every rule I’d ever absorbed and forging a new path forward.
Continue reading Phase 2: Friction
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