You cannot keep us off our Litekyan land, We will cross that legal boundary, We will let our children play. (2024) by Gera Datuin

Datuin, who goes by SIGWARZ, applies her botanical knowledge of native plants into her work, weaving science and art into a central theme of her largely figurative pieces. This piece is an homage to the families of Litekyan, fighting for their children to thrive on their sacred land. The young figure steps across the boundary of the painting, and over the chain, and into the jungles of the endangered native Fådang tree, a rare tree found in Litekyan’s limestone forests. His face has an expression that says, ‘I will do what I want and play on my own land.’ This is expressed in the spirit of childlike disregard of the occupying military boundaries/gates/fences/chains placed upon indigenous lands of Guåhan’s CHamoru people. May the spirit of this child create resilience and endurance with those families for generations. The figure could also be representative of the Filipino diasporic perspective, a yearning for a country she has no real childhood memories in. It is a romanticized dream to protect her own native land, without the physical and tangible memory associated with it.

Acrylic, oil, pastel, spray paint, found chain link.

Size: 60 x 60”

Starting Bid: $2,000