IF there’s one thing the gays love, it’s stickers. Whether it’s to put them on water bottles or phone cases, or even just to keep them stored in a box never to be used because of sheer indecisiveness, stickers have become such a big part of queer culture in the Philippines because of how they help to express one’s self in fun, vibrant ways.
With events like Komiket Pride and Metro Manila Pride being celebrated this June, it’s important to highlight the fact that stickers aren’t just about being cute and quirky. They’re also an avenue for queer people to express themselves, and a way for minorities like those in the LGBTQIA+ community to feel seen and heard.
With that, republicasia hopes to shine a spotlight on some queer artists in the Philippines currently using their platforms to make stickers on LGBTQIA+ culture and things important to the queer community.
- Jouache
Even as a kid, 22-year-old non-binary, transfemme art director Jouache preferred drawing over the alphabet or math. While other kids focused on academics, Gouache leaned more toward creating art.
As someone who often feels a lot of things, they use their stickers and art as a creative outlet, expressing themselves through their works. They often like to draw on the things they see, and create silly stickers out of the most random things, as seen in their Chicken Wrath and other chicken-themed sticker sets.
They’ve also released an Effem sticker series, created because they don’t usually see stickers that resonate with them as a transfeminine person. They wanted to make merchandise to help those like them feel seen and validated.
Jouache’s current art style is cute and straightforward, inspired by the illustrations found in children’s books. Their items can be purchased on their Instagram page, and will also be available at both Komiket Pride and Komiket Iloilo.
- LIMMY
LIMMY, a gay 19-year-old artist, has always liked the idea of drawing something on a surface and then seeing it turn into something whole.
Though he’s been making art since he was a kid, he found his calling for making street-art themed pieces when he saw the different graffitied walls around Taft when he first moved to Manila.
“I think I’ve always had a penchant for vandalism; I would scribble on my high school’s armchairs with a marker when nobody was looking,” he shared.
LIMMY’s designs are often a reflection of his interests, as seen in his stickers inspired by K-Pop artists, films, and even Sonny Angels. His style is vivid, bright, and saturated with colors; he describes it as a bridge between physical and digital, weird and trendy, goofy and serious. In other words,an unpredictable, beautifully designed paradox.
His stickers can be purchased on Shopee, and will also be available at Benilde’s Rainbow Writes Bazaar at the end of June.
- Tonet na Artist
Tonet is a 21-year-old queer artist and piercer who first delved into art when they were five years old, using it to calm themselves down and better express how they’re feeling.
They’ve continued to experiment with their style since then, often finding inspiration from memes that they see online, or from musicians that they listen to because they often attend gigs all over the metro.
They describe their art style as colorful and weird and lean more towards making LGBT or gore-themed art. Currently, their best-sellers are their Zild stickers.
Their stickers are available on Shopee, and they can often be seen selling stickers at different gigs that they attend.
- Sunog Baga
22-year-old Sunog Baga is a bisexual artist who likes making stickers that she feels will be relatable to everyone, as well as for things she experiences daily. Being a multimedia arts student, for example, she’s made sticker packs on the struggles of graphic design.
She’s also made Cubao Expo stickers for people like her who often frequent the place, as well as a Bading Nostalgia sticker pack for fellow gays who grew up watching Powerpuff Girls, Totally Spies, and the like.
She started making art for her parents as a means of showing her appreciation and love for them, and she is now able to share that same love with the people who buy her art. All of her works are meaningful to her and resonate with her, and while she’s still trying to figure out her art style, she’s developed a lot of quirky pieces along the way.
You can check her stickers out on Shopee or see her in person at the GD-HND Makers Market, Siningtinta’s 3rd Anniversary Event, and even Metro Manila Pride.
- Kulas
Designing stickers centered largely around Filipino, pop, and queer culture, 22-year-old bisexual artist Kulas was originally drawn to his profession because of his interest in colors and anatomy.
Many of his pieces are inspired by religion, and include designs that put the faces of famous female icons like Lana Del Ray and even Jolina Magdangal on religious figures. He also likes making stickers that focus on his different advocacies, as he seeks to make a change in the country in any way he can. His other works are about the mundaneness of life and his love for cats.
Kulas describes his style as something inspired by comics and classic Filipino illustrations often found in textbooks used by elementary school students. His favorite piece at the moment is his Holy Pop Girlies sticker series because it’s campy, quirky, and relatable to the primarily Catholic Philippine population.
Though he doesn’t have an online shop yet, he’ll be tabling at Komiket Pride, Patrons of the Arts, and Bili Bili in the coming months, so stay tuned.
