As Wild As We Come
With this series of self-portraits, Wawi Navarroza celebrates a period of profound change in her life: motherhood and a move from Manila to Spain and then Istanbul, while the world was brought to a standstill owing to the pandemic. As much as these experiences were destabilising, the artist chooses to show how they enriched her view of the world and renewed her connection to both her body and her art.
’As Wild As We Come’ is in many ways a rebirth of a woman literally and figuratively crossing boundaries and entering a new life through the framework of her photographs.
The notion ‘tropical gothic’ offers a fitting context for her work, a heady mix of Spanish-Catholic and American popular culture while remaining distinctly Southeast Asian. ‘As Wild As We Come’ is an expression of rebellion and vitality. The title additionally stands for women, mothers, Filipinos, the diaspora, identity, place and self. The staged visual elements are often festive and laden with symbolism, with an emphasis on the female experience of birth and rebirth.
