13” x 19”
Following the Philippine-American War (1899–1902), the American Dream became deeply embedded in the Filipino education system, shaping generations to idealize the promise of life in the United States. This three-part poster series explores that complicated legacy by contrasting Hollywood-style glamour with the lived realities of early 20th-century Filipino migration and identity.
Far Away From Home depicts the first wave of Filipino migrants who arrived in Hawai‘i and California as contract laborers, highlighting both the physical toll of farm work and the emotional weight of leaving family behind. Dance for a Dime! captures the nightlife of the manongs, who spent their wages at taxi dance halls, revealing the tension between spectacle, romance, and deep loneliness. Amigo Warfare references the Philippine-American War and its propaganda, using the visual language of vintage Hollywood and wartime posters to critique how violence and colonial power were obscured by heroism and myth.
Together, these works reframe Filipino-American history through pop-cultural aesthetics, questioning the ideals of belonging and prosperity promised by the American Dream.