By Liezel Longboan with Rhine Bernadino
Dressed in her signature jumper, loose denims, and trainers, Lilibeth “Yvette” Mercado greeted me with a warm hug. It had been months since we last met, and the change was striking. There was a new twinkle in her eyes and a joyful energy about her, a complete contrast to a year ago, when she was struggling and in need of support.
She was excited to tell me about Daloy, her very own website that beautifully captures her journey of resilience and self-discovery. ‘Daloy’ (DAH-loy) is a Filipino word that means flow, either in a physical or emotional sense, moving within time and space. Yvette describes her website and art practice as a space where emotion and abstract form meet, reflecting “the quiet power of women and the beauty that emerges from life’s layers.”
“It evokes emotion, depth and the quiet power that flows through each artwork, just like life itself — sometimes calm, sometimes intense, always evolving.”
Yvette has been a constant presence at many events organised by Filipino-run charities in London. When she is not catering, she is often the one running these events, leading arts and crafts workshops for mums and children. Behind her warm smile and generous energy is a woman carrying a heavy burden: a single, undocumented mother doing her best to provide for her son despite the many barriers placed before her by society.
Yvette, 46, arrived in the UK in 2008 full of hope as a management trainee at a hotel. After being promoted to supervisor, she began experiencing discrimination at work. Soon, she found herself without a job and undocumented, her visa not having been renewed by her employer. During this time, she also found herself associating with the wrong people and, worse, trapped in an abusive relationship.
“I was looking for somewhere safe, but I didn’t really know what safety looked like,” she said. Yvette did not report the abuse she experienced because she feared being deported from the UK. But the birth of her son changed everything.
A mother's resilience
Becoming a mother to a little boy gave Yvette renewed hope and taught her what safety could mean. “He brought life, hope and joy into my life,” she said.
Together, they faced homelessness, precarity and discrimination on many fronts. While battling anxiety and depression, Yvette volunteered for Kanlungan Filipino Consortium for several years, organising fun and creative workshops for children and survivors of domestic abuse.
An advocate for systemic change to improve support for survivors of domestic abuse, Yvette also served as a trustee of the Southeast and East Asian Women’s Association (SEEAWA), sharing her lived experience while supporting other women who have gone through similar challenges.
A creative journey
Creativity had always lived within Yvette, finding different forms as her circumstances allowed. From cooking for community groups to leading creative workshops, there has always been a restless energy in her, a need to express herself while supporting the Filipino community.
In the past year, however, she stepped back after experiencing a mental health breakdown. The difficulties she and her son faced forced her to pause and focus on healing.
“I understand that healing is a continuous process, and that self-care and therapy are integral parts of moving forward and finding peace,” she said.
She then found Addana Women’s Support Group which offered women a series of workshops. From childminding to cookery, she moved on to texture art which she found transformative.
As predictable as it may sound, art became an avenue for her to process what words often struggle to hold. Through painting and visual experimentation, she began translating emotions into colour and gesture. The act of creating offered something simple yet powerful: a moment of flow — a place where thoughts could move freely, where the body could slow down, and where healing could take a quieter, less visible form.
Today, creativity has become a central part of Yvette’s healing and transformation. There is a quiet honesty in the way she presenters her work, less concerned with perfection than with presence. The paintings feel alive in their confidence to stand on their own, capturing the energy and resolve of someone learning to trust their creative instincts.
Finally, Yvette’s creative self is emerging after years of uncertainty. Often, artistic expression just need time to surface and the space to flow.
Know more about Yvette and her art practice here.
