茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS
茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS

[REVIEW] “Up Close, A Portrait” by Jose P. Mojica

The face serves as the most recognisable feature of an individual. It captures one’s expressions and character, revealing a persona even without a word being uttered. No wonder almost every artist has made a self-portrait, for it is not only convenient to use the self as the subject, but, in essence, it allows them to explore the depths of their identity or construct an image of what they wish people to see.

The self-portrait has developed from what it was in the 19th and 20th centuries, when the style flourished and produced some of the most significant works by great artists. Today, at a time when selfie culture has become part of modern life, especially in the age of social media and phone photography, with millions of selfies taken each day, the self-portrait has become more common, perhaps at the risk of being pushed to the brink and losing its mystique and authority due to the oversaturation of posed and posted bodies, at times without care or context.

Nicole Tee’s solo exhibition a patch, a portrait at Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines, in May this year contributed to the contemporary conversation. Having used “portrait” in the title, she finds new ways of expression, extending the notions surrounding portraiture. Instead of completeness and finality, she dabbles in frays and fragments from her hidden boxes. These patches make up a whole, a manifestation of her negotiations. As described in the exhibition notes, “Patchwork is the exhibition’s central metaphor and method.”

^{Nicole Tee, a patch, a portrait (2026). Images courtesy of Blanc Gallery.}

Tee’s process begins with the conscious curation of what stays and what goes, “in the sorting and sifting”, after the self-imposed constraint of not buying anything new and using only those items already available in her collection. With this selection comes a subjective examination of which items truly resonate, to which items the self attaches, and which ones will be taken up again to have a new life. The items, then, are not remains, but what one wishes to retain to serve as testaments to the proposed identity.

^{Nicole Tee, Wildflower Patch (2026). Images courtesy of Blanc Gallery.}

Her work Wildflower Patch shows various flowers stitched onto a large cotton-linen quilt. These sewn fabric flowers have blossomed over time on the quilt, through slowness and attentive cultivation. Same But Different is a series of works that feature floral designs, dots, and various patterns embroidered on textiles that she might have kept while working on another project, now given a chance to become part of an exhibition. By working with what is already available, Tee not only comments on notions surrounding excess, but also argues for a deeper valuation of material and personal history.

^{Nicole Tee, Same But Different (2026). Images courtesy of Blanc Gallery.}

Reflecting on these works, an experience came to my memory: that of the trousers whose crotch had blown out. They were bought in April last year and have been worn many times on various occasions. While out on an errand, holes appeared in the crotch area due to constant use.

It would have been more convenient to throw them away, since clothes have become cheaper and easily available. After all, the trousers looked past their time: their fabric had turned soft, and the green colour had faded, far from their unblemished appearance when they were first bought. But there was friction in the thought of discarding them, and the instinct to repair was stronger.

The necessary materials were gathered: needle, thread, and an old fabric to be used as patches on the holes. The fabric was cut into squares and fastened onto the trousers to keep them steady. A running stitch travelled up the vertical side, then along the horizontal. When it was done, they obviously looked patched, due to the visible white stitches in the areas.

^{Details of the mended trousers.}

It was my father who taught me how to sew. As a young boy who liked to run around and play, my trousers would often rip. Instead of replacing them, my father would repair them at night so they could be worn again the next day. Later, he realised that it should be me who would mend my own clothes. He passed on the needle and left me to do it on my own.

A sense of joy was felt again in the act of mending. The trousers continued to have another life. But they’re not just trousers anymore. In them now rests a story, a history, a lesson from my father. Up close, they’re a portrait.

Some may consider Tee’s works in the exhibition radical. They do not show a face nor a body. By refusing to present them in what she calls a portrait, she turns the gaze from the physical back to the material, to the fabric, to the new compositions. This decision extends beyond aesthetic effect. Defamiliarisation challenges our expectations.

The works may also be radical in a radix sense of the word. She returns to the historic culture of animism in the region, where life resides in objects, a belief that has been flattened in the capitalist world that favours accumulation and consumption. The “portraits” demand reciprocity grounded in respect, not to mention her intention to resist “a world that prizes speed and constant novelty”.

Tee articulates identity through belongings. Each piece carries a weight that represents the multitudinous individual, and the exhibition serves as a place of collision to make sense and meaning. After all, a portrait is never about exactitude, but about the subjectivity being expressed, about what self is being put forward. Her portraiture moves from duplication to construction, in the singularity that adds up to a kind of plurality present in a patchwork.

^{How to cite: Mojica, Jose P. “Up Close, A Portrait’.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 17 Sept. 2026, chajournal.com/2026/09/17/up-close.}

A filmmaker, writer, and scholar, Jose P. Mojica earned his BA in Digital Filmmaking from De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, and his MA in Creative Writing and PhD in Literature from the University of Santo Tomas. His films have screened at festivals including Gawad CCP at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. His works have appeared in TOMAS Journal, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and PhilSTAR Life. He currently teaches at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. [All contributions by Jose P. Mojica.]