After studying fine arts at the University of the Philippines, Ocampo moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s and studied at the California State University. He held his first solo show in 1988 at the La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles titled Lies, Falls Hopes, and Megalomania. He has exhibited widely across Asia, Europe, and the Americas since then, and has participated at the 2004 Seville Biennale, 2001 Berlin and Venice Biennales, and the 1992 Documenta IX. 

He is noted for works that appropriate religious iconography and cultural sign systems, which he juxtaposes with secular imagery to express commentaries and critique on socio-political issues, such as Western colonialism. He uses coarse brushworks, vivid colors and dark humor to push the boundaries of painting and provoke the preconceptions of viewers. His work fuses sacred Baroque religious iconography with secular political narrative. His works draw upon a wide range of art historical references, contain cartoonish elements, and draw inspiration from punk subculture.