(REHEARSED ANSWER)

Maria Amethyst De La Vega (MADLOVE) is a Filipino-Australian interdisciplinary artist (digital illustrator / painter) whose practice dissects the mythology of the “imaginary Asian woman” that exists in the contemporary collective subconscious, as well as internet culture’s broader impact on identity. She is inspired by Surrealism, Superflat, hyperpop, otaku studies, fandom, the cyberscape, and what she calls “Neo-Orientalism”--an all new realm of fetish born from the digital age.

In 2025, the artist completed a Bachelor of Creative Arts (BCA) at the University of Wollongong, graduating with Distinction. Since then, she has had her work exhibited in respected institutions such as Hazelhurst Gallery in the Sutherland Shire, and has featured in the University of Technology Sydney’s Muse Magazine.

(REAL ANSWER)

I am:

• THE PERFECT GIRL
• HANGING ON THE WALL
• PLAYING THE GAME
• MADE OF IMAGES AND OBJECTS
• RETURNING THE STARE
• A DOG OF SORTS
• CONSTITUENT PARTS
• HALLUCINATING
• A HALLUCINATION

MY MANIFESTO: OBJECTS OF AFFECTION