Born in Manila into a family of highly creative people, she grew up alongside great Filipino artists such as Cesar Legaspi, Romulo Olazo, Gus Albor, Lee Aguinaldo, Onib Olmedo, Ben Cabrera, and Justin Nuyda.

Romina was fortunate enough to call this art haven a home. Moving to Florence, she specialized in the new language of multi-media art where she ventured mixing visual art, photography, installation, and video. She has since been active and participated in exhibitions both locally and abroad.

What are the usual themes in your work? 

I try as much as possible never tho theme my work, I like creating a series of ideas, exploring in the most minimal and nonevasive way an image. I try to create a minimal collaboration with the image allowing it to speak for itself, my composition is minimal and always search to keep the image as true to its being yet still distorting it into abstract thought and aesthetic. 

Tell us about your latest project/s or anything you are currently working on.

For the past 2 years I have been working on a project called "Tick Tick" - it is the slow destruction of monuments and architectural spaces . in the Philippines creating abstract patterns and images. Since demolition does not happen in the Philippines Tick tick is the sound of the hammers and huge nails that we hear with every monument, building or house that needs to be demolished for progress, the same progress that leaves us with very little built history.

How do you study or research for a project?  

Of course, a project has to be close to the heart. To me, it has to provoke social change, it has to marvel and make people think. My photography is a mix between an aesthetic approach as well as an idea that I firmly believe in, concepts and ideas that will make people think. I want them to ponder and have an inner monologue with themselves, especially this generation that are bombarded with tens of thousands of images on a daily basis. What about my image will make them stop and say " Wow, that makes sense" instead of the swipe up or down, left or right in this Instaculture. 

What are the processes involved in your art-making?

I am still figuring that all out. I still live by the muse of art, inspiration is quite hard to spot when one works a 9 to 5 job, being an artist in Europe is an impossibility.  My process is like a book I have to take my time and read it slowly. Allowing it to take me on a journey it stays in my head while I face daily responsibilities and as I go it transforms and evolves to sometimes be even be killed by lack of substance. Because of the lack of substance, scrutiny, criticism and discussion has given way to so much mediocrity, which I battle with every day with what I put out.

When working for an exhibition, how do you know which work to include?

I try as much as possible to "kill my little darlings", to eliminate what is not necessary, art either marvels you or provokes you, I try as much as possible to attempt to marvel, provocations are easy especially in societies that embrace taboos, I am interested to provoke thought, interaction, social exchange. One must destroy to be able to create, deconstruct to be able to construct. This is one of the hardest challenges in creating art to respect the destruction to then bring life back to it, thus bringing you one step closer to God.

Name some of the artists who have influenced you in your practice.

The Italian Abstract Expressionists, Arte Povera, Filipino abstract painters, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Kremer, Fabian Bürgy, Giuseppe Spagnulo, Richard Serra, Edward Weston, Man Ray, Harry Callahan, Franco Fontana, Pierre Cordier, Aaron Siskind and the list just goes on and on.

Among your works, which of them could be called your favorite? 

I think sometimes they are like children each one has their own soul, each one connects with me in a different level, I take from them everything that I can learn, express and communicate and send them out into the world hoping that this moment of creation brings someone joy. That is why I do art in the first place because it brings me joy and because of this one must share that emotion. Art is visceral when creating it takes over your body, your mind, your soul and we attempt to capture it in every new language of expression. Once the process is done it becomes the property of humanity. This is why each one is someone's favourite.

What is your fondest childhood memory? 

Being exposed to the freedom that art brings. Listening in to the people that discussed and argued, being allowed to break my mind open, to look for my language of expression be it music, visual art, food or literature. I was given access to the greatest gift of life. Freedom of expression, speech and idea. all of which many people are losing today.