Chloe Caday’s, At the Heart of Midnight, is part of her latest series, Diwata’s Song. Tracing back to pre-colonial Philippines, Chloe Caday retells stories of her motherland through Diwata’s Song, honouring her culture that is deeply rooted in folklore and mythology. Within this exhibition, Caday focuses particularly on the diwatas—spiritual beings that guard and nurture forests, caves, land or bodies of water. As a result, the paintings are a culmination of stories about these goddesses of the moon, stars, waters and sunrise, stories of forbidden loves, midnight mystique and the peculiar allure of flowers in bloom.

In Tagalog folklore, it is believed that the blossom of the banana contains anting-anting (mystical powers) and it is highly sought by the brave. At the heart of midnight, and under the full moon, people would wait under the blossom of the banana tree to capture the Mutya (a stone containing the powers) by their mouth. If the stone is caught, the diwatas that guard the banana tree will try to reclaim the Mutya until sunrise. In an attempt to acquire the powers, they must avoid the diwatas from recapturing the stone, and if unsuccessful, they are eternally inflicted with consequences.