Yes.
Lucille Montelongo
2026
acrylic, modeling paste on wood panel
24.0 x 16.0 inches
A response to a question I was asked at the age of 17, “are you sure?” Yes. is a piece that encourages reflection on the interaction and statement as a white-passing individual of mixed-racial identity.
The image used is a repurposed photo of myself looking in a mirror and wiping my face. I felt this imagery fit the context of contemplating complex identities and navigating the world through ignorant perception and assumption as a person of Pasifika identity. The black and white color palette is to be digested as a negative connotation as this is just the beginning of a lifelong experience that takes the color out of life. The exposure on the left figure enhances the white-passing perception as the right figure is more colored in the shadow. The question is added as an underlying thought, hiding away in the complicated sections of the piece.
I am mixed.
Lucille Montelongo
2026
acrylic, modeling paste on wood panel
24.0 x 16.0 inches
A response to a statement I was told at the age of 20, “you are very light-skinned to be Palauan.” I am mixed. is a piece that encourages reflection on the interaction and statement as a white-passing individual of mixed-racial identity.
This work reflects Yes. in the mirror, using the same imagery of me wiping my face with a higher exposure and color reflection. I wanted this over-exposure of white to be a metaphor for my experiences of perception on a physical and internal level. The reversed color was chosen to communicate the confusion that comes with being a person of color but also finding the meaning behind what that means for me while being perceived as not. Keeping the black and white color scheme, I hoped to evoke more chaos in this work while sitting aside the rendered panel. The comment is added as an underlying thought, hiding away in the complicated sections of the piece.
The lessons I had to learn through these experiences and put into these works is that the way you look does not take away the identities that you know make you whole.
Lucille Montelongo
Artist Biography
Lucille Montelongo is a multi-racial visual artist based out of Long Beach, CA. Since 2022, her developing body of work stays focused on exploring her Palauan culture, heritage and knowledge for herself and her family living in the diaspora. Her work explores heritage acknowledgment, cultural symbols, traditions and craftsmanship. For her, visual arts serves as a vessel for her to process new knowledge and give a purposeful response while activating an educational opportunity for her broader communities. She views each work as a form of documentation that she hopes carries itself through the future generations in her lineage.
She currently studies Drawing and Painting at California State University, Long Beach where she continues to develop her techniques and conceptual execution to bring into her personal work. With an emphasis in fine arts, her preferred mediums are acrylic media and collage while still remaining materially versatile. She is a Youth Artist in Residence at the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum (PIEAM) in Long Beach and has been since 2024.
