Showcase

Jan Alain Diaz

Jan-Alain Diaz's practice centres on assemblage—collecting and reconfiguring objects, imagery, and media that carry significance, whether cherished or forgotten. Born in the Philippines and now based in London, Diaz explores the post-colonial experience through sculptural works that examine the tensions between individuality and immigration.

"Having spent much of my life camouflaged in England, my work reveals the agency of objects by presenting them unaltered within foreign contexts," Diaz explains. His assemblages serve as critical reflections on contemporary culture and labour processes, responding to our turbulent socio-political landscape while exposing hidden exploits within modern systems.

Grounded in ontological inquiry, Diaz investigates how objects and imagery shape our understanding of and interaction with the world. By presenting unresolved visual narratives that highlight societal contradictions, he invites viewers to decode the "noise" of contemporary life and question dominant cultural narratives.

The objects in Diaz's exhibitions function as artefacts of collective memory, carrying inherent poetic significance. Through his interrogation of dominant identity systems, he creates bridges between social trauma and individual experience. His practice remains deliberately fluid and ever-changing, mirroring his own experience of identity within Western structures.

"My work is neither simply 'workings out' nor 'final pieces,'" Diaz notes, "but rather an accumulative attempt to reconcile individuality within Western frameworks." Through his distinctive lens, he offers a confessional testimony of the world, creating powerful opportunities for introspection and dialogue.

Jan-Alain Diaz's practice centres on assemblage—collecting and reconfiguring objects, imagery, an...

Final work

Scaffolding tower with debris netting encloses a stool atop a chair and suspended carpet roll, accompanied by a broom and pile of site-collected dirt.

The Tower of Babel

A scaffolding tower wrapped in debris netting houses a stool balanced atop a chair, while a carpet roll hangs vertically from chains and hooks. On the exterior, a stick broom beside a pile of dirt gathered from the building.

Scaffolding tower with debris netting encloses a stool atop a chair and suspended carpet roll, accompanied by a broom and pile of site-collected dirt.
Scaffolding tower with debris netting encloses a stool atop a chair and suspended carpet roll, accompanied by a broom and pile of site-collected dirt.

Research and process

A tire full of water, a framed shirt, two prints

FACADES, March 2025, AMP Gallery

In anticipation of the degree show, FACADES emerged as a critical exploration of object agency and material memory. This collaborative exhibition, featuring works by Jan-Alain Diaz, Malachi Wallace, and Jack Dempsey, presented pieces crafted exclusively from found objects and repurposed imagery.

The three artists, working in dialogue with one another, interrogated the inherent narratives embedded within discarded materials. Their collective approach transformed overlooked artifacts into powerful commentaries on displacement, identity, and post-colonial experience. 

A chainsaw, two prints and a shelf with toys arranged into the colour spectrum.

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