Artist Bio

JJ Ignacio (they/them/theirs) is a Filipino-Vietnamese organizer within the South Bay region who is linking and raising the Anti-Imperialist perspective. They use 35mm film to showcase collective life with their Kasamas. Their work is centered towards propagating the perspective that those who support and dedicate their lives to the National Democratic movement of the Philippines are not the “communist terrorists” that the Duterte regimes paints them as.

How Does Your Identity Affect Your Work?

Being mixed between Filipino and Vietnamese empowers my art with the anti-imperialist perspective and culture of resistance that both the Filipino and Vietnamese people engaged in under colonialism and imperialism. Imperialism has the lens that if you are engaged in legal or armed struggle under a system of exploitation, that you are a terrorist; my art aims to destigmatize the demonization of those who partake in legal and armed struggle.

Instagram: @jji.35mm