Yearning for life with Paul Aquino, herein, thereafter

A clacking keychain fills the hallway with sound. Attached to it is an anaglyph ant meme with the lyrics to Clairo’s Bags embedded: “Can you see me? I’m waiting for the right time.”

Herein/Thereafter’s eye-catching stickers and keychains center around collages of beloved phrases, memes, and advocacies. Behind these creations is artist John Paul Aquino (BSA, ‘24). 

Paul describes the brand concept of School of Lifelong Yearning (SoLY) as an homage to his roots: DLSU’s very own School of Lifelong Learning. “SoLY is my love letter to campus life: the chaos, the camaraderie, and the constant quest for meaning,” he explains. With a recognizable tagline that connects with his audience, Herein/Thereafter’s rise to popularity was imminent. Paul’s use of humor, novelty, and pop culture instantly entices those who resonate with his message of yearning.

Slices of life

Sometimes, a single spark in a brief instant is all it takes to change someone’s world. For Paul, the moment that set off Herein/Thereafter’s trajectory was when a picture of his stickers pasted on an electric pole circulated on X. “To my surprise, it gained traction. People started asking, ‘Can I buy these?’” 

Even then, Paul had yet to realize the brand’s main concept. His art merchandise was initially called “Bleached by the Sun,” referencing how ink fades under sunlight to make a playful contradiction to how his stickers were meant to endure. His designs highlighted pieces of media—songs, poems, and art—that represent a person’s passions and interests, and become lasting parts of one’s identity. He wishes to illustrate “the idea that what we hold close today continues to shape who we become tomorrow.” This marked the birth of Herein/Thereafter, a deeper name and philosophy that touched the hearts of many.

Paul’s creative process varies. Some of his ideas would occur spontaneously; other times, it takes trial and error. Paul often challenges himself, “How can I push the limits of what a sticker can be?” His process has resulted in stickers like peelable orange slices meant to be shared. Each cut carries phrases like “I love you” and “I’m glad I exist” as a nod to Wendy Cope’s The Orange. Despite a sticker’s tactile nature, Paul tops them off with his signature use of vintage typography, letting his art speak in a “visual language that feels both fresh and familiar.”

Even at the onset of his creative career, Paul has long leaned into his penchant for metaphorizing sociopolitical issues through famous media references. This is apparent from his first design: an image of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. donning rapper Ice Spice’s bright copper curled afro, with the lyrics “How can I steal if I already stole, like?” written below. “I wanted to critique Marcos’ history through humor and pop culture—a way to make heavy topics feel more approachable,” he points out.

Despite the multiple “eras” or seasonal releases of Herein/Thereafter, Paul admits that finding his authentic voice is still an uphill battle. Surrounded by people with unique styles in the industry, he can not help but compare himself with them. However, “the turning point was realizing I didn’t need everyone’s approval,” he challenges. “You just have to be better than you were yesterday.”

Yearning as a state of mind

What cemented Paul’s style in the art scene is his branding of yearning—both as a feeling and theme—that informs the ethos of his work. Some of his most famous works include a pastiche of Filipino pop culture references and lines taken from artists such as boygenius and Mitski, collaged together to forward his SoLY ideology. He credits an elective course at the University for teaching him that “pop culture can be an effective tool to engage in political discourse.” 

This has created a faithful audience of youth who brandish themselves as longing beings, mutually pining for something absent and difficult to name—yearning for what or whom exactly? “We are a museum of everything that we love, right?” Paul reflects, recalling the early days when he started doing his art, which were mostly composed of lyrics, scenes, and emotions that were significant and moving to him. 

Paul’s rise in the art scene may also be attributed to the universality and accessibility of stickers. “You can slap them everywhere: laptops, water bottles, or [shared] with friends.” 

Although Paul’s works may be his alone, buyers and patrons also partake in the meaning-making of art. Stickers and merch for Paul “are the ultimate democratic medium.” Art does not have to be entirely niche; it only has to be viewed and appreciated by an onlooker. 

However, Paul’s work is not limited to yearning as he also recognizes the political context of all art. He once made a sticker design addressing the impending jeepney phaseout, which is available for public download and distribution. This fluidity in subject and theme extends to his own character, showing that while his stickers represent human yearning, he also longs for social change. 

Art beyond boundaries

SoLY was not built overnight. What started as stickers on a random electric pole has grown into something far greater. “It taught me that art doesn’t need to be perfect to resonate—sometimes it just needs to be seen,” Paul says. While his pursuit for art began purely for fun, he has now amassed steadfast patrons that continuously yearn for more of his creations. Equipped with a signature style that perfectly blends nostalgic typography, layered metaphors, and a touch of novelty, Paul creates with a clear philosophy: the passions we cherish today serve as the cornerstones of who we will become tomorrow. 

As Paul frequents art fairs, he paints the Philippine art community as diverse, warm, and supportive. Beyond this, he looks forward to breaking conventions. “Art shouldn’t be confined to markets; it belongs in streets, screens, and unexpected spaces,” he remarks. This belief is further reinforced through his choice of merchandise, as he argues that “stickers [must] exist in the wild.” For Herein/Thereafter, stickers and keychains are more than just decorations—they are icons of art that bridge the accessibility divide between artists and the community.

When asked about what’s next for Herein/Thereafter and the SoLY line, the young creative responded that he is embracing the unknown: “I have some ideas up my sleeve that one-up my previous ones, but for me, the rest is still unwritten.”

---

This article was published in The LaSallian‘s Menagerie Special 2025. To read more, visit bit.ly/TLSMenagerieSpecial2025.