Kapwa in Excelsior Finalist: Juke Jose
Balay Kreative is honored to announce that Juke Jose is one of our finalists for “Kapwa in Excelsior”!
The Kapwa in Excelsior program was designed in collaboration by Make it Mariko and Balay Kreative to celebrate the Filipina/o/x community in Excelsior. These artworks bring unique perspectives on how each artist sees kapwa, our shared identity or inner self, in this community. We are excited to present works by Chelsea Calalay, Erina Alejo, and Juke Jose; three talented Fil-Am artists whose experience of community in the Excelsior has made a deep impression on them. These artworks respond to the question: “How do you live and experience kapwa in the Excelsior every day?” We hope you can join us in celebrating community connections through these beautiful creative reflections.
About the Artist
Juke Jose explores sensitivities and nuances in relationships through the investigation of indeterminate spaces in the built environment. Informed by experiences, otherness, and his diasporic Filipino identity, Juke is an interdisciplinary artist and an architectural designer. Juke moved to the United States in 2013 and called Excelsior his home.
The Design
An Act of Mutual Understanding, 2021
Acrylic paint on acrylic sheet
An Act of Mutual Understanding recontextualizes the idea of laundry spaces beyond the sterile and utilitarian into a space of sensitivity and understanding. Set in the Philippines and in the United States, the act of laundry transcends cultural and linguistic barriers associated with migration. Laundromats become spaces of gathering where mundane activities are shared. Gossip ensues, numbers are exchanged, food is shared, and a trust is layered and intertwined. Intimate moments within these spaces multiply in meaning, exhibiting our ways of living and shared being, fostering kapwa relationships.