Lory Joy Ablola also known as LJ (b. 1979, Manila) is a Filipina artist who graduated from the Far Eastern University with a degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts and a major in Advertising. LJ was part of the Haslla International Open Air Museum Residency and has exhibited her works in different countries like Singapore, Korea, Tokyo, and Italy.
She was born and raised in the busy streets of Manila and has worked as a graphic designer for years before fully pursuing her passion for paintings. LJ usually uses acrylic paint, thread, metallic pen ink, cutouts, and folds that made her works distinctive for collectors.
She and her husband Dexter Sy usually go through the streets of Manila to photograph the anonymous people that they encounter and the crowded places like public markets, transit, streets, and main roads that they get to traverse. For Lj, those images that they capture have a story to tell. Every crowd and individual that was seemingly frozen in the photograph, is considered special and has a unique personality that contributes to the grand meaning of her works. Ablola is also convinced that each of them has a destination to go reach in the future.
