The Mitsubishi Lancer is among artist Ryan Romero’s earliest memories of life in Marikina, Philippines. Years later, during the Gulf War, his family was issued army-grade gas masks while living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. These two seemingly unrelated objects—a car and a gas mask—became formative symbols of imagination and play, each rooted in vastly different geopolitical contexts that Romero was too young to fully comprehend. The People Power Revolution, a civilian-led movement opposing the Marcos dictatorship, shaped the atmosphere of his childhood, subtly threading itself through everyday moments—from mango tree climbs to birthday parties. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, the distant thunder of Patriot missiles and the incongruous presence of American pop music on Islamic airwaves formed the surreal soundtrack of his early adolescence.
