“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” - Prospero, The Tempest, William Shakespeare

As a kid, I always loved stories of child  heroes such as Peter Pan, Little Nemo in Slumberland, and Sebastien from the Never Ending Story. But there were never Asian or Filipino heroes. As time passed I realized that there weren't many diverse characters in fine art either, such as photomontage.

Doctors, art therapists, and Feng Shui practioners agree that images have power to influence development and  shape the way we think. So when my son Eli was born, I wanted to make an effort to surround him with imagery to positively influence his development.

Therefore, I created this series with the belief that by exposing him to images, where the child hero is of filipino/asian descent, he would have at least one diverse child adventurer to be inspired from, along with those commonly portrayed in popular media. 

Influenced by Neil Gaiman's Sandman  comic, the Little Nemo in Slumberland comic by Winsor McCay, created in 1905, and Peter Pan, created in 1902,.  I made these photomontages  dreamlike in nature. I used photos of Eli when he was just 3 months old, as he played in bed. 

Ultimately, I'd like to create a children's fantasy story book using some of the art works. The photomontage themselves are completed  from photos  from the Philippines, Cambodia, Mexico, and the United States.