Raya Simpao's painting practice is informed by her upbringing in the Philippines. She now studies in Rhode Island, USA. Storytelling and painting are synonymous to her. She works figuratively, constructing scenes with collage, pattern, and texture. Currently, Raya has been exploring community responses to tragedy and the ways that healing takes place amidst order. The Philippines and its systems operate around conservatism and religion. Raya is deeply interested in what is left behind of events that are so unpleasant to confront and difficult to explain. She questions what part rituals, traditions, and norms play when coping with pain. She works to capture the simultaneous tension and beauty in the experience of picking oneself up, making sense of things, and moving forwards with love and sensitivity.