© 2022 Nash Cruz

Nash Cruz

Nash Cruz (he/they) is an artist and graphic designer from the Philippines. Much of Nash’s work explores a relationship between the past, present, and future outside of linear time – often manifesting in meditations on science fiction and queerness.  He speculates and mythicizes both personal and collective stories: ideas of people, landscapes, or objects that could have been or should be.

Nash had an early knack for zoology and botany that he rediscovered after finding Lee Pivnik's Institute of Queer Ecology project on Instagram. The collection follows the theoretical framework of ‘Queer Ecology’ that reshapes our relationship to the natural world through a lens free of binaries and what is considered heteronormative. This was an exciting 180° for Nash, who took from the collection new perspectives for art and life. An outstanding outcome of this influence, he says, was a drawing of giant twerking tarsier (pictured).

Nash also draws inspiration from his travels around Asia. “Tokyo has a lot of silly printed ads. We went to a club with flawless drag queens, hot go-go boys, and yummy dance music. Bangkok had so much good art displayed in random spots in the city. There was a washed-out pastel painting of ancient columns that I found hanging in a mid dim sum place. In a bar restroom, there was a collage of a woman’s head attached to the muscular body of what appeared to be Dhalsim from Street Fighter.” The visuals that resonate with Nash on his travels tend to evoke the “The Filipino Vernacular” –  the sense of cultural randomness that permeates life in the Philippines. In his graphic design and video practice, he samples or remixes objects that are culturally familiar, whether those are the juice boxes of childhood, pirated DVDs, YouTube lyric videos, or billboard adverts.