The paintings of John Yoyogi Fortes are a connection between personal memories and heritage, and an exploration of the layers between. Using iconic images juxtaposed with family portraits and organic forms, Fortes investigates his Filipino ancestry in connection with his experience growing up in America. Challenging the labels of cultural or identity art, he presents the viewer with both familiar and unfamiliar images that have been merged and layered on the canvas, giving meaning to memories that are fading in the light of our highly mobile society.