Fr Sherwin Lapaan

Sherwin Lapaan has been living in New Zealand for over twelve years and found himself ill and struggling in hospital during the pandemic.

A friend visiting him suggested that they go to the hospital shop to buy a book and some pens so he could write out his frustrations.

Armed with his pens and notebook, Father Sherwin thought he would be able to write and reflect on his own questions about life. In hospital, he had a view of the children’s ward, and his heart went out to the children staying there. Instead of journaling, he started drawing sketches of children with their toys and balloons. These simple sketches developed, and friends donated canvas and acrylic paints for him to continue his art. This was the catalyst for him to capture what he saw and turn pictures into beautiful paintings. He was able to see the moon from his window and remembered his childhood in the Philippines where children went to play hide and seek when there was a full moon.

He was inspired when he was young by the cartoon film An American Tail (1986) and the words of the song “Somewhere Out There beneath the pale moonlight, someone is thinking of me and loving me tonight. Somewhere out there, someone is saying a prayer that we’ll find one other, in that big somewhere out there.” The song encapsulates feelings a lot of migrants have when they feel lonely, missing their friends and families.

Father Sherwin’s first representation of the moon was a simple. He drew a child with a balloon and her cat walking with the light of the moon. Now, his paintings would grace the walls of any home or art gallery.

The Youth Group at his church, St Marks, have access to Father Sherwin’s paintings to exhibit and raise funds for their charitable works.

Father Sherwin says:

“I think it is important to be connected to one’s culture and tradition. This tradition has inspired and informed many of our ancestors to become better, if not, great people. People grow when they are fully immersed in their culture and cultural identity. They said that people of culture have greater selfidentity and strong knowledge of who they are. Many young people nowadays are lost because they have no sense of identity and are disconnected to their cultures and traditions.”

If you are lucky enough to be able to see paintings signed by “Sheng” with a cat’s paw print, you might be able to meet the artist and ask him to tell you more stories related to the moon and the cat.