Chloe Caday’s, Flowers of the Divine, Waling-waling, is part of her latest series, Diwata’s Song. The Waling-waling was known to be the most beautiful lady, who lived in a house at the top of the trees and hidden away from the preying sight of the king warrior, Rajah Sulayman. One night, her father felt that she was in danger and instructed Waling-waling to come down. Halfway down the tree, the bright moonlight revealed to Rajah Solaiman her charming beauty. Waling-waling became transfixed on the tree branch and began to slowly transform into a beautiful flower. A symbol of a love that could have been, it is said that the orchid decorated the tree in the palace, and since then the story of the Waling-waling enchanted all those that came to see it.

Chloe says of her work: “The ‘Flowers of the Divine’ paintings are based on the Filipino folk stories of forbidden lovers who continued to pursue their love until death. A story of passion, resilience, and purity, the flowers have become a prominent symbol of their love rebirth back into the earth that continued to blossom time after time. Long before the Spanish colonisation in the Philippines, and the widespread of Western/Catholic ideas, it was commonly believed that the spirit of the departed would be reborn back into the earth – such as a flower, butterfly, moth, or a dragonfly. This belief continues to remain a sacred part of Filipino culture surrounding the afterlife, and its stories such as these hold the power to reconnect the modern world with history retold by not the colonists, but by our ancestors and the people of the land.”