Glimpse of Home 1

Words by Arvin Dauz

Memories are less snapshots as they are images rendered in mercury. Seen through the mind’s eye, they are hazy and fluid, like over-exposed film photos changed by time and light. However inaccurate, memories evoke specific feelings and it is these that fuel “A glimpse of home”.

Driven by her memories, Kuhlein plays in the field of faeries, meshing memories of her childhood, classic Filipino art and expressionism. Delicate flora and landscapes meld with childhood memories. She chooses style as her mode of contrast, eschewing bold colors or lines in favor of melding different artistic styles in her pieces, using muted pastels to give life to the indigenous botany of both her native Cotabato and current Canadian landscape.

Her art takes you back to your own childhood if you share her experiences, or introduces you to the experience of the Filipino diaspora in North America, if you don’t.

Her art is her: a young Filipino artist firmly rooted in the rich soil of home but enriched by her life in Canada.

Kuhlein Migue

Kuhlein Migue is an artist currently based in Calgary. Drawing on post-colonial theory, diaspora studies, and Filipino art history, her works explore how spaces of belonging are reimagined in response to historical and contemporary practices that categorize racialized individuals as the “other.” These themes are materialized through painting, drawing, and woven structured inspired by Philippine textiles. She has shown her work in solo and group exhibitions notably at the Nickle Galleries, The New Gallery, artsPlace Canmore, and the Alberta Society of Artists gallery. Migue holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Calgary.

Arvin Dauz

Arvin is a cook who occasionally chases the muse.