- Philippine Arts Council
Bamboo Forest and a Red Panda
The Filipino in Me - Insights into Living Heritage
Entry by Maria Elizabeth Arroyo. Burnaby, British Columbia
Artist's Statement
Acrylic painting
Bamboo is the tallest perennial grass, abundantly growing in the Philippines. There are 60 known species of bamboo in the Philippines. Bamboo has a wide variety of uses, such as furniture, handicrafts, fishing and farming tools, building house material and a lot more uses. Bamboo is beneficial in the ecological system. It minimizes soil erosion and it stabilizes river banks. A young shoot of certain species of bamboo is edible and is a great delicacy in Philippine cuisine.
A lone red panda in the painting was created by the artist to depict the life of an adolescent Filipina who confined herself in a bamboo forest to contemplate, to conquer self identity and victory. As most Filipina had endured to be successful in Canada. Artist inspired from the movie Turning Red.
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