The Guam Museum Café Gallery will open a new exhibition Saturday, featuring the work of Guam artist and farm conservation planner Geraldine Datuin, also known as SIGWARZ.
“Ripened in the Badlands” is Datuin’s second solo exhibition. The collection uses figurative painting and agricultural research to explore her family’s migration from Leyte, Philippines, to Guam and the connections between Filipino and CHamoru cultures.
“I come from a family of rice farmers in Leyte, in the Philippines,” Datuin said. “And now I’m here working with farmers, so it’s kind of a full circle moment.”
Within the exhibition, Datuin uses the life cycle of a seed, from seedling to fruit and ultimately feasting, as an analogy for migration, agriculture, and cultural connection. She says the exhibition draws attention to similarities in food, place, and farming practices between Filipino and CHamoru communities, as well as shared experiences shaped by colonial histories. Datuin hopes the artwork encourages communities to focus on those connections between cultures rather than the differences.
“It’s a uniting piece that can help us all feel less alone,” Datuin said. The opening reception for “Ripened in the Badlands” will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Guam Museum Café Gallery.
The exhibition will remain on display through Oct. 20.
The Guam Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
