OCMA (Orange County Museum of Art)

Filipino-American artist Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza uses humor to confront the residues of colonization in the Philippines and proposes new methods of decolonization. A master object-maker, Mendoza borrows objects from the classroom, such as crayons, books, and lined paper, and alters their scale to correct their perceived worth in the educational system. Often ignored narratives appear as larger-than-life sculptures while symbols of power are miniaturized. For Mendoza, her work is a tool for reconsidering history. By engaging with these objects, which she considers a form of technics (the relationship between humans and technology), viewers re-think the modes of learning that perpetuate racism, classism, and misogyny.