Goldie Poblador - Visual Artist

Goldie Poblador is a visual artist based in New York City. Born in the Philippines, Goldie received her BFA in Studio Arts from University of The Philippines and immigrated to the US to get her MFA in Glass at Rhode Island School of Design. With a focus on glass, Goldie creates installations, sculptures and performances to bridge her Filipino roots and American life, as well as ecology and memory. The installations find grounding in the body, in nature and in the senses. One sense she works in is the sense of smell because scents are known to hold memories. One meaningful exhibit was a perfume bar that Goldie created with scents that expressed how she perceived society at that point in time. Scents that held personal themes like grandma’s cooking. Goldie’s newest project is titled Barbae, a collection of shot glasses shaped in the female form that hearken empowerment and sensuality.

@_goldieland
https://goldiepoblador.com/
https://goldieland-studio.com/
https://paypal.me/Goldieland?locale.x=en_US

How did you create your career path? And were you always drawn to art?
I grew up in Manila and moved to the US in 2013 which to me still feels quite recent. I was always drawn to art at an early age, mostly influenced by my parents who had a deep appreciation for art and music. I knew I wanted to be an artist when I was 12, after being able to witness the work of old masters. The rest of it materialized from my interests in film and music as well. I went to an all girl’s Catholic school, and it was very strict but I knew somehow I was different. It was quite uncommon then, and still is now, to choose this career path and I was met with warnings instead of praises. I started with baby steps. I first applied to go to the College of Fine Arts, in UP Diliman and I was lucky enough to get in back in 2004. The first course I chose was in Visual Communication, which is a prerequisite to a career in Graphic Design or Advertising, but after a year I made the very difficult decision to switch to the Studio Arts department. My family was worried but I was lucky enough to receive their support otherwise. For me it all boiled down to me not being able to see myself doing anything else. During my last year in UP, my thesis was discovered by a curator for the Singapore Art Museum, and that was what I consider to be my big break. I started to get more jobs from that, and later applied to get my MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. That was how I found myself immigrating to the US. It's been more challenging to work as an artist abroad, and it is a constant struggle but I noticed a severe lack of representation in my field.

What are your preferred mediums to work in?
I was trained as a painter, but now my practice is focused on the art of glass flame working. It is an ancient technique that I first learned from a small scientific glass blowing shop in Manila in order to create my own perfume bottles for my thesis. I typically create installations, sculptures and performances that are multi sensory in nature. I find myself drawn to the sense of smell as a medium, because scent is our sense that is most connected to the part of our brain that processes our memories. Recently, I collaborated with a chef to create a scent and taste experience that featured a flower from the Philippines and a tea from China. I often use the materials and their origins to illustrate narratives that help me talk about my experience as an immigrant in the US.

How have your life experiences affect the art you create? Does your work bridge your life in the Philippines and in the US?
So much of my art is a way for me to help bridge my Filipino roots and my life in the US. It is how I make sense of the world in general. My first installation project was about translating the history of the Philippines and my personal memories into perfumes. I cannot separate my identity from the work, whether that is as a woman or a Filipina, and I often draw from my life experiences.

The reason I like creating installations is because anything can be your material, and through meaning making we often find we discover ourselves as well. The process of making is usually the most important part of my work, and not always the finished piece.

What are themes in your practice? And what influences your work?
I create sculptures, installations and performances that are grounded in the body, nature and the senses. Often interactive and experiential, the themes in my practice center on eco feminism and the body as it relates to my culture as a Filipina woman and immigrant in New York City. I am interested in exploring the relationships of scent to ecology and memory as it relates to identity and storytelling. My work often addresses the politics of immigrant culture through exploring how plants and flowers from developing countries are appropriated through trade. My work attempts to decolonize these histories and stories through the retelling of them and eventually, a re-imagining of them in a way that is empowering.

Most recently I have been working on a project about two flowers that are native to the Philippines but can also be found in Africa and South America - the peacock flower and the night blooming jasmine. As I began to research on the history and mythology behind the flowers, I began to see two opposing narratives that deal with the concept of motherhood, and reproductive health. I discovered that the peacock flower was used as an abortive drug by American Indians in order for their children to not be born into slavery. As a woman, I have also been considering motherhood but because of financial uncertainty I know it would be a struggle. Perhaps it was the circumstances in my life that drew me to the flowers but besides that I knew that I wanted to intersect the feminist themes with issues on our ecological crisis.

You work with glass and scent. How does scent play a part in your work?
The main reason I began to work with scent was because of a Typhoon Ondoy in 2009, which hit my city in Manila very hard. In a way I feel I created that work as a result of the outside circumstances in my life. After the typhoon, the city where I grew up was in a bad state. A lot of people lost their homes, and that experience made me want to find a way to preserve memories. When I found out that scent was deeply connected to memories, I decided to create a perfume bar that would encapsulate the picture of how I perceived society at the time. In a way it was an ode to my city then, but an act of activism. It was from this need that I wanted to create my own perfume bottles and that started my interest in Glass. I never looked back since, and still continue to develop my glass practice.

What are some of your most meaningful exhibits?
The perfume bar I mentioned was one of the most meaningful pieces I had made, since it carried themes that were very personal such as the scent of my grandmother’s cooking, to the scent of the government (rotten eggs). I also collected river water from the Pasig river, which I used as a perfume I called “Squalor”, as a way to address my ecological concerns during that time.

Another show that meant a lot to me was my RISD thesis show, which I was also able reiterate for my first solo show in New York. I worked on the myth of the ylang ylang flower and addressed how it was appropriated by Western perfume companies. My father, who is a lawyer, helped me research on the patent laws and spoke at the opening on the subject of why Filipino flowers should not be patented without giving credit to the farmers, and the country of origin. As a Filipina immigrant, I am very fortunate to have grown up in the Philippines, so I know about how much potential we have in our natural resources. I also know that part of decolonizing myself involves recognizing the injustices in our society and learning to be proud of what we have despite our countries’ struggles.

Do you have any work, projects or events coming up?
I was supposed to have a scheduled group show in June, that would feature the two recent flowers I was working on. I called the project “Fertility Flowers”, and I shot a video piece last December in Manila with Apa Agbayani, a Filipino director , as well as a team of really talented individuals. I had a Kickstarter campaign to help me with the project but unfortunately it did not meet its goal because of the pandemic. I also have a design line of shot glasses which I call the “Barbae Collection”. Its a play on the word “babae” and the word bar, since the glasses are meant to be used for alcohol. Rooted in feminist practice, and in the Filipino tradition of handicraft, these glasses serve as energetic beacons of sensuality and empowerment. The delicate shape of these glasses are inspired by the female form. They are available in my online shop which I hope you can check out! (https://goldieland-studio.com)

Photos courtesy of Goldie Poblador