Cast Away into the Ocean: Ianna Engaño’s Lamang-dagat Ceramic Series
Known for her ceramic works inspired by marine life, Oda combines the beauty of oddity, magic, and the ocean into her new ceramic series – Lamang-dagat at Silang Lumalangoy.
Syokoys and Sirenas have been part of the Philippine mythology for a long time. They are both mythological sea creatures with peculiarities; Syokoys are green-skinned humanoids with scales and fins like a fish while sirenas are the Filipino counterpart of mermaids. If they were true, all of their eccentricities would have made them outcasts in our society, they would have hidden deep in the abyss of an ocean that nobody wants to explore.
Gaining social acceptance is as elusive as catching a firefly in a dead forest. Once a person deviates from what they call beautiful and normal, it will be difficult to catch that firefly. Centuries have passed but discrimination is still a thing for human beings who don’t seem to learn, as well as prejudice. They swim at the surface of the ocean where they only see the most trivial matters; because they don’t try hard enough to go for a deep dive, they don’t see the most important matters and the far more exquisite reefs that keep the ocean alive.
This ceramic series is the artist’s warm embrace for those who are different. Whether it is because of your gender, sexuality, race, skin color, physical disabilities, and other conditions that people see you as someone different, you are not alone as you journey out of that abyss. You do not have to live in the dark because your light is what the world needs in order for it to grow.
Ceramic sale is still ongoing on Instagram (@odangputik) and you can still get your own ceramic mugs. There are only a few mugs left from this series!
