Ang Kopa
The Chalice

A vision that sparked this artwork carries a special meaning, inviting the audience to feel curiosity and wonder about its influence on me.

​When I was nine years old, I saw a kopa in the sky with my two naked eyes: a chalice with a snake and a rod. As a child, I did not think it meant anything.

​At an early age, around eleven, I was my uncle's assistant (he is a doctor). I helped him in surgical operations, served as the pharmacist, read prescriptions, dispensed medication, and took patients' blood pressure and temperature. This happened in the Philippines in the 70s, where it is called child training, but here in the US, it is classified as child labor, for I was just eleven years old at that time. I grew up in a business family, and even my Ate (elder sister) did simple bookkeeping at age twelve. ​