Rydel Cerezo is a Filipino-born visual artist working in Vancouver, Canada. Cerezo’s work investigates the spaces between sexuality, religion, and race, and how these disparate themes metaphorically and visually coalesce. Aware of the historical ethnographic use of photography as a tool to ‘capture’ particular cultures, Cerezo queries this historical practice by repositioning and employing the camera to reflect on his own identity, which has equally lived in the Philippines and Canada by immigration.
The past year, Cerezo has exhibited internationally at Aperture Foundation’s Summer Open Exhibition “Delirious Cities” (New York), Vogue Italia’s “Photo Vogue Festival: A Glitch in the System”, and Polygon Gallery (Vancouver). His work has been featured in Dazed Magazine, It’s Nice That, and C41 Magazine. Cerezo holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Arts and Design.
Am I a Sea
Through the lens of queerness, “Am I a Sea” is an autobiographical work exploring intergenerational trauma as it considers the impacts of Catholic imperialism and Spanish colonialism in the Philippines. The inability to escape from religious entanglement is realized as a consequence of familial inheritance and centuries of colonization. I am interested in the history of the church that served as a tool involved in the colonial mission and now serves as a space for bodies to commune with one another in the diaspora.
To view more of Rydel Cerezo’s work please visit his website.