For Cebuano artist Mark “KDLT” Copino, fatherhood was never just another chapter in life. It became part of his art.
I want my son to know more about me through my art and I want him to know that he is very important to me.
— Mark “KDLT” Copino, Artist
Copino has built a career around telling personal stories through visual art. Yet among the many themes that have appeared in his works, one subject has remained constant through the years: his son, Elias Copino.
As Cebu celebrates Father’s Day, he reflects on how becoming a parent transformed not only his life but also the lived experiences he chooses to tell through his art.
Learning fatherhood along the way
When Copino hears the word “father,” he immediately thinks of the role his own father played in his life.
For him, a father is a guide, teacher, provider, and a protector who helps a child navigate the world.
Those lessons stayed with him when he eventually became a father himself. Yet despite having his own example to follow, he admits parenthood was still unfamiliar territory.
While certain instincts came naturally, he realized that becoming a father was not something anyone could fully prepare for.
“You learn along the way,” he said.
Copino believes every family experiences fatherhood differently, but at its core, the responsibility remains the same: helping a child grow while learning and growing as a parent too.
That journey would eventually become one of the strongest influences in his artistic practice.
The son who became his art inspiration
Long before Elias became a recurring figure in his artworks, he was simply the most available model.
While working on his 2018 exhibit “Isla,” Copino initially used his son as a visual reference. But as the exhibition developed, the concept began to evolve.
“In the beginning, I needed a model,” Copino recalled. “Eventually, it became a conceptual idea that mirrored my experiences as a young boy.”
The exhibition drew heavily from his childhood memories, with Elias serving as a representation of experiences he once lived through himself.
As his son grew older, Copino found himself rekindling his own boyhood through his work.
While circumstances may have changed across generations, many emotions remained familiar. Love, anger, grief, curiosity, and wonder became recurring themes that connected father and son across time.
His artworks eventually became what he describes as a visual journal, a record of memories, emotions, and experiences that continue to shape his life.
“My art has always revolved around my experiences and personal life,” he said. “As a father, I think my art reached a new level of maturity.”
The evolution is evident in Copino’s career.
Born in 1981 and more popularly known as KDLT (kidlat), Copino is regarded as one of the pioneering figures in Cebu’s street art movement. In 2005, he co-founded two of Cebu’s most influential street art collectives, Ubec Crew and Junks Collective, and is currently a member of the artist collective Solitaryo Cinco.
Over the years, his practice evolved beyond stencil-based street art into painting, sculpture, performance art, and digital media, often drawing from themes of childhood, fatherhood, memory, identity, and self-discovery.
Even as he now lives and works in Bantayan Island, Cebu, those themes continue to shape his exhibitions. In recent years, Copino mounted a string of solo exhibitions including “Siamese Dreams” and “Solace” in 2022, “Pilgrimage” and “Meditations” in 2023, “Letters to the Sunset” in 2024, and most recently “Howling Winds and Northern Tides” in 2025.
Becoming a father simply gave him another story to tell, one that continues to unfold with every passing year.
Growing together despite the distance
Today, Elias is an incoming college student with interests in literature, poetry, philosophy, and writing.
He is no longer the young boy who once clung to his father. Instead, he is finding his own voice and pursuing his own interests.
Watching that transformation has influenced both Copino’s perspective as a parent and the themes that emerge in his work.
“He is finding his own path now. But I’m happy because there are still things that connect us,” Copino said.
Those connections have become even more meaningful as distance entered their lives.
Despite Copino being based in Bantayan, while Elias remains in Cebu City, they continue to stay connected through calls and messages.
The artist proudly shares how his son now introduces him to stories, poetry, and ideas. In many ways, their relationship has evolved into one where both continue learning from each other.
That influence can still be found in Copino’s art today.
Some of his recent works incorporate excerpts from journals and written reflections inspired by personal memories. Many of those memories involve his son, making fatherhood a continuing presence in his creative process.
Despite the distance, the bond remains visible both in life and on canvas.
The legacy beyond the artwork
For all the lessons he hopes to pass on, Copino admits he has learned just as much from his son.
He often reminds Elias to practice kindness, respect others, and pursue his own dreams. Yet he credits his son for teaching him responsibility and courage.
Before becoming a father, Copino described himself as carefree and largely focused on himself and having a child changed that perspective.
Elias taught him how to care genuinely for another human being and gave him a greater reason to keep moving forward in life and in art.
“I want him to know more about me through my art. And I want him to know that he is very important to me,” Copino said.
Years from now, when Elias looks back at the artworks his father created, Copino hopes his son sees the person behind them and the record of his own thoughts, experiences, and love as a parent, which are things that he never fully understood about his own father.
The artist acknowledges that fatherhood is not perfect. Like many parents, he has made mistakes and faced challenges. His family’s story, he says, is not without its struggles.
Still, he is grateful for the connection they continue to share and for the lessons his son has brought into his life.
For many artists, a masterpiece hangs on a gallery wall.
But for Mark “KDLT” Copino, it may be the lifelong story he continues to create with his son, one artwork, one memory, and one lesson at a time.
For his current art exhibits, he is currently part of a group exhibition with Provenance Art Gallery in Makati City running until August 2026. He is also preparing for a solo exhibition with Metro Gallery in San Juan, Metro Manila, set for the end of June 2026.
For social media updates and inquiries, people may connect with Copino through his Instagram account, @eliaskidlat.
This article is part of Para Kang Papa, a special CDN Digital Brandroom series celebrating the fathers, mentors, leaders, and father figures whose values continue to shape lives, families, and communities across Cebu.
Para Kang Papa. Para sa mga tatay. Para sa mga tawo nga nahimong amahan, mentor, ug inspirasyon sa atong kinabuhi.
