Sharing to you of a woman who speak thru her love of art, Yllang

I thought that art is just a simple hobby of painting of nature, abstract or anything that you thought of what you like to paint or draw.

Then I realize that art is not just an art that is drawn in a canvass, but art can speak in silence by looking through it.  It has emotion on every detailed stroke of a brush by an artist.

Through World Pulse, I am inspired of this woman’s story on her “Empowerment through Art”  Her name is Yllang.

We met last July 24, 2019, and the World Pulse Spirit ignited as we spill the beans about our common desire of writing and sharing our stories.

Her love of art empowers her to pursue her study in painting at the University of the Philippines-College of Fine Arts.

What I am so admire of her is that she used her passion for painting to be the voice of women. She speaks what she believes and connects to women who are victim survivors of Human trafficking, slavery and domestic violence.

Her masterpiece of art mostly uses for campaign for women’s rights. She also uses art to promote awareness and change in empowering her community. She is an art activist because her works are entirely about women and children.  She is a painter by heart.

Yllang, is passionate about creating a difference, a connector and speaks out for what she believes. 

Her artwork was use on a book art cover in Review of Women’s Studies Volume XXX 2020 (Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, Universtiy of the Philippines).

She shared an artwork when she and her husband were stranded in Japan for three months.  The artwork she made was used as an eco-bag design in SALA, an artwork collaboration idea with Naoko Kuroda.  When she returned back to the Philippines, she uses the same artwork and composed a poem with her daughter, which was published with Gabriela National Alliance of Women Organization.

She and her daughter, Anda had a new project Sinulid Karayum, a tahian projects ng mag-ina (embroidery project of mother-daughter). 

I so love how Yllang, has been an influenced to her daughter with the same passion on art.  The design and artwork of their embroidered earrings is simply Filipino.  An inspiration to mother-daughter bonding, creatively uses each talent with a common interest.  

I just remember how the Philippine Flag was sewn by a mother-daughter, Dona Marcela Marino de Agoncillo with the help of her daughter Lorenza and Mrs. Delfina Herbosa de Natividad (niece of the Philippine National Hero – Dr. Jose P. Rizal).

****

Yllang is a migrant worker, feminist, and artist from the Philippines. Yllang studied two years of interior design in university before her education was interrupted when she had to work as an OPA Overseas Performing Artist in Japan in 2000.  Her experiences as a female migrant worker sparked her involvement in activism to advocate for migrant women’s rights, with a particular focus on empowering survivors of trafficking and domestic violence as well as supporting Japanese-Filipino children. She is a volunteer artist for different women’s organizations. 

She founded Empowerment Through Art in 2017, a collective that raises funds for grassroots organizations and aspiring artists from low income families.

She is the artist of the powerful paintings appear in BEBESEA’s platforms, you may listen to her Podcast to hear her stories here: https://spoti.fi/3GhsIGa