Although Arts Month has officially ended, the celebration of creativity—particularly through the female gaze—continues with International Women's Month. Female contemporary artists in the Philippines are gaining recognition both locally and internationally, and among these incredibly talented visionaries is Solenn Heussaff, a multi-hyphenated artist who has crafted an impressive portfolio as an actress, entrepreneur, painter, and, most importantly, mother.
Growing up in a Filipino-French household, Solenn was exposed to the world early on. As a child, she frequently travelled to France, Mexico, and Switzerland with her parents and each visit to a new city allowed her to explore museums, learn more about each country's culture, and view art through young, curious eyes. This experience, though she wasn't aware of it, became a significant influence on her journey as an artist.
"I wasn't even aware of our national artists until I was much older," she recalls, as we began our conversation on a bright and early Saturday morning via Zoom. "However, we would visit many museums and art exhibits in Europe. Even though I didn't always read the descriptions or remember the artists' names, being exposed to different styles, colours, and people profoundly impacted me. That's why I believe travel is so important. Now, with my children, I try to take them to a different country every other year so they can experience the same exposure I had growing up."
At just 17 years old, Solenn decided to pursue fashion design in Paris for four years. Upon returning to Manila, she became the protégé of Filipino fashion designer Lulu Tan-Gan and worked as a product developer. Her projects included innovative combinations like weaving yarn with abaca fibers, and she worked with Lulu to create a groundbreaking collection of knitted wedding gowns.
Shortly after, Solenn returned to Paris to study at École Florimont and Studio Bericut, mastering various aspects of makeup artistry, from prosthetics and theatre wigs to mustache weaving and fashion makeup.
"In France, I did makeup for theater productions, including for Jamel, a well-known French comedian, and worked on commercials for brands like Diesel," says Solenn. "When I returned to the Philippines, I started doing makeup for TV and film, working on television series and commercials, including projects with Filipino actors Richard Gutierrez and Maja Salvador."
The contrasts between these two industries helped structure her approach as a multifaceted creative, which later helped when she unexpectedly found herself in front of the camera after earning second place on Survivor.
This international reality series placed contestants on an isolated island where they must provide themselves food, fire, and shelter. It was a real-life take on LOST, minus the sci-fi.
"Being an actress wasn't something I had planned—people assumed I joined Survivor just to break into entertainment, but if that were the case, I would've done it much earlier than 27," she explains. "My dad reminded me that I could always fall back on fashion and makeup if I didn't enjoy it." Her humility and down-to-earth nature are truly endearing.
After being offered a career in Filipino "showbizness," she eventually embraced the role by acting in television series and movies; although she admits that she's not the best actress out there, she makes up for it. She sips her tea and says, "Being backstage taught me discipline, professionalism, and respect for people's time. I always show up on time and put in my best effort, which helped build my presence in the industry. I may not be the most talented actor or the best host but I'm reliable and dedicated. I believe those qualities have kept me going in showbiz." But if you ask her whether she aspires to go to Hollywood, Solenn responds thoughtfully, "Of course, Hollywood would be everyone's dream.
But at this point in my life I never dreamt of being an actress. Suppose a script came in where they were looking for a Filipino to play a specific role, and I got it, of course in that case, I'd be like, 'Yes!' I will try it and give it my best." She further emphasised that things are different now, "I have kids. I'm so hands-on, I feel like, if I were to do Hollywood, I'd either have to move my family there or make big changes, which I don't think would be fair—at least not for my husband. Kids are adaptable, but there are big decisions to be made. If it were just one film, why not?"
As a creative, versatility is key, whether acting, production work, styling, or writing. Solenn has proven that when it comes to creativity, there are no limits to what one can accomplish. Her reputation as a painter has exponentially grown as she depicts the reality and beauty of the Philippines and its people through social and magical realism in her art.
Moving on to one of her most recent projects, her latest exhibition, VITA at the Provenance Gallery at the Shangri-La Hotel the Fort, saw her collaborate with one of her long-time friends, interior designer, and artist Olivia d'Aboville, for a unique series that merged their styles. The collection represented their collective journey as lifelong friends while exploring personal growth, life, and nature themes.
"Olivia and I—she's one of the people I was born with. Our parents were friends before us, so she's like family to me," Solenn smiles. "We've always taken art classes together since childhood; she was always my partner. I always knew she would stay in the art field, whereas I went into fashion design, which is still art. We even studied together in Paris—she attended Jupiter and another school focusing on textile design. She knew exactly what she wanted to do from an early age."
Solenn's admiration for Olivia's work led to her expressing, "One day, we'll do something together." This slowly manifested as her beloved hobby evolved into having her exhibits in Tokyo, West Palm Beach, Florida, and several parts of the Philippines.
Moving forward to 2020, everyone else around the world felt the weight of melancholy sweeping with the daily barrage of politics and other newsworthy events, which eventually reflected in the art created at that time. Around this time, Solenn mounted an exhibition with Modeka, called KUNDIMAN ( Love song in Tagalog), featuring her striking interpretations of life in the Philippines. Still, because of the current situation, she started to feel that people were exhausted by sad stories and began reconsidering her artistic approach as a painter.
In her work, Solenn says, "My paintings are often political or melancholic—my mom would always ask, 'Why don't you paint people smiling?' But I found that unnatural. Even my daughter would look at my paintings and say, 'Mom, why are they so scary?' I'd tell her, 'They're not sad, just not smiling. You don't walk around smiling all day, do you?’ Leaning back, she recalls the day that moment occurred, and it was on a day unlike any other day; as she was watching her daughter play in her mother's garden, she saw herself as a child once more through her daughter's reactions to a new flower, butterfly, or even a tree. "It made me realise how much joy we experienced when we were younger, yet these are the things we now overlook as adults. That's when I was able to see the beauty of simple things once again— It's how nature can open you up, how you want to scream on top of a mountain instead of scrolling through social media and getting angrier.”
This new perspective led to her collaboration with Olivia. “That's when I started painting leaves and plants—it brought me peace. But I didn't want the exhibit to just be about that. So I told Olivia, 'I feel like we should collaborate.' And she just said, 'Okay.'”
That was when everything about VITA began. Solenn started sending one or two paintings to Olivia's studio, where she, in turn, would experiment with her canvas and incorporate some of her textile work. "Some techniques didn't work, but we kept developing a process that worked because we had a shared vision of what we wanted to happen," she explains.
Thanks to their friendship, their creative process was primarily organic and intuitive. "We wrote down words that resonated with us—mental health, divine feminine, peace—and used them to guide our colours and themes. Our palettes and stories naturally aligned. The entire process felt effortless. We didn't force it. Olivia and I are very aligned in many aspects—motherhood, our French-Filipino identities, navigating that in-between space."
Solenn and Olivia collaborated with other artisans like Charming Baldemor to bring each piece and their vision to life. “With Olivia's work, she's always been bold with colour, which I picked up from her. I usually stick to muted tones—my paintings may be bright but have an underlying softness. I was never comfortable with flashy colours. But I used colours I wouldn't have normally mixed together.”
"Since she was working with textiles, I wanted to incorporate textile-inspired elements into my paintings. That's how I discovered gel painting, which allowed me to create batik-like patterns, giving my work a more textile-like texture to complement hers. That's something I gained from our collaboration."
Solenn shares that for Olivia, “She told me this was the first time she felt motivated to try something new. She has a well-established artistic process that works for all her exhibits, but she admitted that it had become a bit mechanical. With our collaboration, she felt challenged to approach her materials differently. Usually, her pleating process involves crisscrossing the back of the fabric to hold it together, but this time, she worked from the front and incorporated raffia, which was a fresh approach for her. She told me she hadn't felt that 'eureka' moment in a while, and our project reignited that excitement for experimentation.”
"Ultimately," Solenn concludes, "I think we truly brought out the best in each other."
As a result each artwork represented both Solenn and Olivia equally, for instance, images of Solenn's paintings have been digitally printed onto d'Aboville's pleated textiles. The images become distorted, partly by the folds and partly because the abaca weft is slightly lower than the polyester warp, creating the optical illusion of a shifting image when the viewer moves around it.
These complex interactions mirror the micro intricacies of a leaf's structure and the macro interconnectedness of the earth's ecosystems. Heussaff's painting layers remind us of fabric cut-outs sewn on as patchwork.
Over them, d'Aboville adheres to her textiles, which are organically shaped and conjure depth and movement. Pleated abaca and polyester against the canvas's flatness produces tension and harmony.
When their paintings were finally placed into the gallery, Solenn and Olivia both turned to each other, saying, " We did it; we're now artists."
Now as she embarks on another phase in her creative journey, Solenn continues to evolve as an artist, actress, and mother with her journey inspiring creatives everywhere. Her willingness to push her boundaries and to challenge herself knows no bounds. Whether she's in front of the camera, dipping her brush on a blank canvas, or nurturing her family, Solenn Heussaff is one of the brave ones who knows what it's like to embrace one's multifaceted identity and the endless possibilities that come with it.
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Words & Interview Cyan Leigh Dacasin
Editor Jheanelle Feanny
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