Jason Gonzalez (b. 1974, Philippines) is an artist based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His practice is defined by a life of early artistic awakening, environmental upheaval, and a profound commitment to the preservation of life. Recognised as a child prodigy, he sold drawings and won awards before the age of thirteen. His artistic practice paused for decades when limited access to materials prevented him from progressing to oil painting.

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Growing up in a country struck by more than twenty major storms each year, Jason witnessed the human and ecological cost of climate change long before it became a global conversation. His perspective was irrevocably altered after surviving a nine-foot raging flood during Typhoon Ondoy (2009)—an experience that forged a lifelong resolve to protect both people and the natural world in the simplest ways he can.

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After settling in Northern Ireland, he deepened this commitment through regular tree-planting and long immersion in the landscape. In 2020, encouraged to finally try oil painting, he rediscovered the medium he had once been denied. As a full-time carer for family members with long-term disabilities, he built his practice in the early hours of the morning, painting from 1:30 to 5:30 AM. This discipline shaped a body of work marked by struggle, tenderness, and resilience.

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Jason primarily uses leaves, roots, branches, and debris from storm-felled trees as his painting tools, grounding his process in materials shaped by the very natural forces that have impacted his life. Whenever possible, he paints en plein air, treating nature not as a mere subject, but as an active collaborator. His work explores the interdependence between humans and the fragile natural systems that hold us together. Each piece is both a meditation and a call to radically change our way of living, shaped by a life lived in witness to destruction, renewal, and the possibility of healing.