Stephanie Comilang (born 1980) is a Filipina-Canadian artist and filmmaker working in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

and

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

Background

Stephanie Comilang's parents immigrated from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to Canada in the 1970s to escape the political unrest of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martia ...

's dictatorship. Growing up in an immigrant household shaped her idea of home and has served as the starting point for much of her artwork. She graduated from the

OCAD University Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

in 2006 with a BFA in Integrated Media.

Artistic career

Comilang's work is concerned with the concept of home, often dealing with ideas of

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews afte ...

and migration. Her documentary approach in constructing narratives stresses themes of social mobility, global labor, and cross-cultural communication. Through the medium of video, Comilang explores the conditions migrants face, looking at exploitation and adversity that groups endure when leaving a country for reasons out of their own control. Comilang has screened her works at the

International Film Festival Rotterdam The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental f ...

, the Asia Art Archive in America (New York), SALTS Basel, UCLA, and the GHOST:2561 Bangkok Video and Performance Art Triennale among others.

Video works

''Lumapit Sa Akin, Paraiso (Come to Me, Paradise)'' (2016), is self-proclaimed "science-fiction documentary". Following three Filipina domestic workers, Irish May Salinas, Lyra Ancheta Torbela and Romylyn Presto Sampaga, who reside in Hong Kong, this 25.44 minute long film narrates the digital communication of these three women who relay their everyday lives of migratory work back to their homes and families. A drone camera that shot most of the videos footage has been titled ''Paradise'', which is voiced by Comilang's mother, Emily Comilang. Paradise functions as both a narrator but also symbol through which the three protagonists digital communication of calling home is transmitted through. Identifications of being ''between'', are meditated on in this piece through the use of technology, attention to time, and the protagonists as subjects of diaspora. Comilang demonstrates the complex ways in which these women must reconcile notions of space and home through the migratory experience. ''Yesterday, In the Years 1886 and 2017'' (2017), consists of a two-channel 10-minute video and installation commissioned by Artspeak in Vancouver. Artspeak Editor, Danelle Ortiz, speaks on this piece stating, "While this film speaks to a specific place and particular people, the role of the disembodied narrator, casts a wider net of questions around mobility, a rearrangement of geographic concepts of centre/periphery, and the disruption of historical linearity and continuity."

Other works

''Children of the King'' (2011), short film Documentary-style short film expanded from a zine Comilang made when she was 18, about her conflicted feelings towards her father's hobby of being an Elvis impersonator. Comilang traveled to Manila, Bangkok, and Tokyo which apparently have the highest number of Elvis impersonators per capita, to interview families of these fathers and their shared experience. This film explored the ways in which American imperialism pervaded these individuals experience through familial relationships, and also created a bond through which the "offspring of the king" could connect to each other. ''It All Makes Sense'' (2019), video and light installation A video and light installation for

Nuit Blanche Nuit Blanche () (White Night) is an annual all-night or night-time arts festival of a city. A Nuit Blanche typically has museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open and free of charge, with the centre of t ...

recreating the first time Comilang saw ''Perfumed Nightmare'' (1977) by

Kidlat Tahimik Eric Oteyza de Guia (born October 3, 1942), better known as Kidlat Tahimik ("Silent Lightning"), is a film director, writer and actor whose films are commonly associated with the Third Cinema movement through their critiques of neocolonialism. ...

, an influential figure in Filippino independent cinema who sparked Comilang’s interest in cinema and set a precedent for what she could create. Like Comilang’s father, Kidlat Tahimik came from Baguio, an old American air base on Luzon island in the Philippines. ''Perfumed Nightmare'', at the time was unlike anything Comilang had seen before, and being created by such a relatable figure, impacted Comilang’s creative practice.

Awards

Comilang was the winner of the

Sobey Art Award The Sobey Art Award is Canada's largest prize for young Canadian artists. It is named after Canadian businessperson and art collector Frank H. Sobey, who established The Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist 40 and under who ...

in 2019 with her piece titled, ''Lumapit Sa Akin, Paraiso (Come to Me, Paradise)'' (2016).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comilang, Stephanie Canadian video artists Women video artists Filipino artists Canadian contemporary artists OCAD University alumni 21st-century Canadian women artists 1980 births Living people