Roldy Aguero Ablao
Amot means medicine in Chamorro is an ongoing exploration of what it means to wear medicine of the Mariana Islands, from places of ancestry and genealogy. These textiles have symbols and stencils inspired by medicine and motifs from the islands for people to wear its medicine wherever they go, carry pieces of the land and sea, of the Marianas, in celebration and remembrance, in protection and prayer.
About the Artist
Roldy Aguero Ablao is a queer child of Guahan (Guam), with ancestors from the Mariana Islands, Philippines and Korea. They are an interdisciplinary artist and experimenter, using photography, sculpture, fashion and performance as ways of understanding and creating culture, place and
Website | IG: @hafaroldy
About the Partner Organization
Micronesia Climate Change Alliance is a grassroots network of individuals and organizations dedicated to creating community-centered solutions to climate change. They focus on a wide spectrum of issues such as transitioning to locally-produced renewable energy sources, promoting food sovereignty, tackling the consumption and waste crisis, and advocating for an equitable, just society throughout Micronesia.
Website | IG: @micronesiaclimatealliance
Artist’s Statement
As a diasporic Chamorro living in Coast Salish Territory (Seattle), I was able to work with and travel back to the Mariana Islands, to work with MCCA (Micronesian Climate Change Alliance). In 2023, MCCA organized Amot Walks on each island of the Marianas, connecting with local healers and cultural workers to help remember the medicine that has always been there. Four amot walks took place, each on a different island, where we learned about local history and areas of importance and sacredness, listening to guides and connecting with people who live and call each island home.
As a way to commemorate this experience, I was tasked to create several symbols and stencils inspired by the medicine and motifs that were shared on these walks, with the goal of printing textiles that people could wear and wrap themselves in. In this past year, over a dozen stencils and screen prints were created, adorning clothing and fabric that tell and speak of plants that heal and drawings on walls and pottery made hundreds of years ago. In the Pacific, it is said that you would tattoo pottery patterns on your body, a reminder that we are vessels also holding sacred waters. Wearing them is also a reminder too, of our waters but also of place and people, which was exciting to explore. Later in the year, I was able to travel back to the islands again and share these motifs, creating workshops and creative gatherings that people were able to come and print on their own clothing, marking their body in celebration of land and sea and all the medicine of the Marianas. Biba!
Watch Roldy’s presentation during the 2024 Creative Wildfire showcase
