Connected Currents

Shore to Shore, The Blue Between Us

I want to explore my cultural diaspora through the theme of the colour blue and the subject of ocean wildlife. I am an ethnically Filipino person born in England, which creates some unique experiences in terms of identity. The colour blue allows me to explore the subject of my cultural identity in many ways as it can reflect the diasporic experience in different contexts. Blue in nature, for example, is expansive and yet also rare. It is the colour of our skies and oceans, but it is difficult to find it elsewhere in nature. Our skies and oceans are simultaneously planes for migration, separation, and global connectivity. In terms of history, the colour blue has unique associations to language due to multiple languages lacking the word to describe it. For example, Homer describes the sea as “wine-dark” instead of describing the colour blue in The Odyssey. This parallels diasporic relationships with language and the experience of some generations of immigrants not being able to speak their ethnic languages. It is also interesting that the ability for humans to recognize the colour blue came later in human history, and the colour spread through trade of unique minerals like lapis lazuli and the interaction between different civilizations and cultures. This can reflect human immigration and the rise of diasporic identities through globalization.

I have always lived near water in every country I grew up in, this project is a glimpse into the coexistence of connectivity and separation within my ethnic identity.