Unfolding the depth of human emotion with Filipina artist Ayka Go

In the crumpled creases of paper are manifold meanings, all of which are tenderly rendered by 32-year-old artist Ayka Go. Intricate and vibrant, the oil on canvas works “blue” and “orange” embody her oeuvre of collages and paintings depicting the metaphor in materiality. 

Finding beauty in the mundane, Go proves what it means to create from the world around you — encapsulating emotions that are indescribably innate and achingly familiar. 

When past becomes present

Go has long since experimented with paper as her muse and medium, citing her undergraduate thesis which pushed her to explore themes of childhood through the adult-tinted lenses of her own. 

Back then, the artist had been flipping through the pages of her old diary to interpret the workings of her world when she was just a kid. 

“I realized I really couldn’t go back to my childhood [or] that childhood wonder. Now, as an adult, you absorb things differently,” she shared, recalling the personal significance of her art’s exploration of nostalgia. 

Pursuing such a theme, she said, has allowed her to revisit and reclaim her childhood in a whole new perspective. “Parang kailangan mo lang siyang dalhin in a different way.” (It’s like you just need to carry it in a different way.)

It is perhaps this reinvented childlike wonder and playful creativity that spurred Go’s interest in everyday materials. Reminiscing her father’s hobby of crafting paper boats and planes, she carries that tender memory with her to this day, pouring it into her work and mantra as an artist: that art can come from unexpected places in unexpected ways. 

ON DISPLAY. Ayka Go’s oil on canvas works ‘blue and orange’ on display at Art in the Park’s 20th edition last March 15, 2026. Raine Romero/Rappler

“Art can be about anything,” she asserted. “Hindi lang siya (It’s not) just drawing or painting. For example, you can make something out of paper.”

This conviction also lends to her consciousness of sustainability and environmental protection. As an artist, the mere fact of her standing means she “is contributing already.” While it is undoubtedly a complex and pertinent issue, Go highlights the importance of small gestures and habits that can easily be incorporated into one’s routine, like recycling or reusing materials, especially in her art. 

“It’s [about] those simple ways. Doon na lang ako bumabawi (I make up for it in that way),” she said.

Art in the heart of community

While art is a powerful channel for advocacy, Go shares that this has not always been the primary motivation of her work. One of her most celebrated solo exhibitions on womanhood and fertility, tending the garden, featured life-sized floral-like depictions of vulva representations.  

The work was, as Go clarifies, deeply personal rather than political, created as a way to express her grief following her own health crisis surrounding a post-menopausal diagnosis. It was only after the show’s reception did she fully grasp the empowerment embedded in her work. 

“Sobrang natuwa ako, especially from women who were also sharing their similar experiences about, you know, their pain and just symptoms. Doon ko na-realize, naging advocacy siya na hindi ko naman ini-intend.”

(I was really happy, especially from women who were also sharing their similar experiences about, you know, their pain and just symptoms. I realized then that it became an advocacy which I didn’t even intend.)

It was through these important conversations — mainly centered on taboo topics — by which Go measures the success of her exhibit. Though not how she initially envisioned it, her emotional intention and liberating impact worked hand in hand to create a safe, resonant space to have these honest and necessary discussions about reproductive health. 

“I’m just glad that it happened because sometimes you need to talk about them to break the stigma on those certain topics that are hard to talk about, right?” she shared in a mix of English and Filipino. 

This experience reflects art’s ability to gather communities in solidarity, either over exchanged passion over a social issue, or simply to bond over a shared love of art. As Art in the Park’s featured artist of its 20th year last March 15, Go celebrates the youth’s opportunity to be able to engage in free art fairs and galleries as more than just a third space, but as a hub for creative expression and engagement in the local art scene. 

“This generation is a bit more blessed, because there are a lot of galleries now. Just look at Art in The Park. All the tents are there, it’s a collective of galleries,” she mused about the annual art event.

As an artist, Go values community in the simplest but sincerest of interactions with those who enjoy or are curious about her art. 

“Of course, when we put up exhibitions, we also think about it conceptually, how it would work, and our whys and hows,” she explained. “So, everything you do has a purpose. And when people ask about it you get to share where the process came from. When people connect, it’s really special.”

Go’s journey as an artist transcends the act of placing pretty paintings on display. What creates meaning are the emotions and convictions that imbue the canvas, and how one decants their interpretation from one enthusiast to another. 

After all, to be an artist is to love art — and there is no love greater than love that is shared. – Rappler.com

Raine Romero is a Rappler intern studying AB Political Science with a Minor in Creative Writing at De La Salle University.