Kim Oliveros
Neil de la Cruz
Rocelie Delfin
Kim Oliveros
Neil de la Cruz
Rocelie Delfin
RICHARD QUEBRAL
Reality Framed
In “Reality Framed”, Richard Quebral’s works show a vibrant mix of natural landscapes and technological elements. There are landscapes which are depicted with seas, palm trees, houses, fields, and cows in pastel colors. But there are also cameras, videos, and walls incorporated in the works.
There is an interplay and tension between the natural world and the increasingly technological landscape of modern life. The presence of cameras and videos in the paintings is a commentary of the role of surveillance and observation in people’s lives. It shows that technology mediates our experiences and connections. There is the presence of high walls that symbolize the boundaries created in people’s personal lives and social lives. The serene and idyllic natural landscape depicts appreciation for the beauty of nature and a desire to highlight its importance in the people’s lives.
The brushstrokes of Quebral’s works are expressive and create a dynamic and textured visual effect. The combination of different materials and techniques convey Richard’s narratives in a nuanced way. The vibrant colors and the versatility of acrylic paint allows him to express his emotions and ideas with intensity and clarity, the wood adds a sense of organic authenticity, and the incorporation of installations allows viewers to engage with the art on a more physical level. All these materials create a visual language that makes viewers think critically about the relations of nature, technology, and human experience.
“Reality Framed” explores the complexities of modern life, the impact of technology on people’s relationships and experiences, and enduring the importance of nature and human connection. Quebral’s paintings put together palm trees, seas, bricked houses, green fields, cows, walls, cameras and videos. All these invite viewers to step into a world where nature and technology co-exist in a subtle balance. (Mica Sarenas)
GROUP SHOW
as echoes left behind the past
In “as echoes left behind the past”, artists Tiffany Lafuente, Victoria Montinola, Kim Oliveros, and Jemima Yabes share narratives and reflections that involve solitude and the outside world. Such goes beyond passing thoughts and looks into the world’s bigger scheme.
Each work has their own concept yet finds unity in the idea of solitude which is acquired by looking outside.
Tiffany creates stories formed by her imagination. She puts humor into her works. Her works depict media saturation, the nature of modern identity, and the emptiness of modern life. Despite all of that, as humans, there is a constant pursuit for purpose, not lost but transformed. Her other work reflects how there is comedy in religion and our beliefs.
Victoria’s works are landscapes. Her subjects relate to memories of traveling and picnics with family. They usually enjoy going to parks, gardens, and zoos. Using images from books and photos from their trips, she paints her artworks. Her works for the present series involve different elements compared to her old works.
Kim paints fabrics that are shaped into flowers. The blankets symbolize his childhood. The flowers in his works symbolize offerings, expression of emotions, and the celebration of life’s moments. Butterflies are placed over the fabrics. They symbolize souls that visit families or places they love. For Kim, it symbolizes connection, revisiting memories of the places and things he grew up with.
Jemima continues her usual process and translates her everyday life and the mundane into paintings through the photographs she takes daily. She revisits the photos she took of her lola’s garden. Her grandmother passed away but her garden continues to thrive in her absence. Her works show the persistence of life in the face of loss.
In their moments of solitude, the artists reflect beyond passing thoughts and begin to think of their pasts and narratives. Such happens when one is given the opportunity to be alone with their thoughts. Through flowers, plants, fabric, pictures, picnics, and imagination, they can enjoy a state of solitude and reflection. Being alone with one’s thoughts, they can take in the world around them. It is also through solitude, one finds camaraderie or people who have the same beliefs and ideas as them. (Mica Sarenas)
VERONICA LAZO
Tricking the Birds
The artist describes the exhibition as an exploration of artificial environments that is focused primarily on the reclamation in Manila Bay. It attempts to highlight how the so-called developments have impacted mangroves and natural wetlands that lead to displacement and disruption of ecosystems of species living in the area, especially migratory birds. Compliance with international environmental laws and regulations of some of these development projects do not guarantee careful consideration of the ecology, though commitment to create artificial or relocated "new" mangroves as replacement for the ones destroyed during construction is agreed upon. "Tricking the Birds" critiques this kind of human intervention that controls and reshapes nature. In this modification, the ecological balance is not only interrupted, but is likewise dominated by excessive and inessential progress.
As an industrial designer, Veronica Lazo's impulse is to problem-solve by means of building, hence her envisioning of a series of homes for birds. Inspired by futuristic imagery, she created birdhouses that were modeled after contemporary and futuristic architecture renders. Utilizing the technology and meaning-making potential of materials in three-dimensional printing, "Prefab Eden" emphasizes artificiality and devised unnatural context. The set-up, as an imagined rehoming, is interspersed with synthetic trees that are silhouettes of local mangroves species found in Manila Bay. "Photosynthetic" series includes Nilad, which was historically abundant and is said to be the origin of the city name Maynila (may nilad or there is nilad). As an attempt to activate representation, Lazo made bricks using resin with encapsulated natural materials sourced from Las Piñas Wetland Park. Most bear the word RECLAIM to complicate the polarity of this action. From one standpoint, neoliberal economic system allows for the reclamation that commodifies nature and exacerbates the irreversible environmental damage; the opposite end is an urgency of reclaiming nature for integral biodiversity to thrive and conservation of ecosystems. In thinking about design's purpose of serving the community, she continues to contemplate on the regenerative and emancipatory possibilities in making.
This exhibition demonstrates how material and content exploration can be driven by matriarchal logic. The use of roundedness as subtle softness in mechanical methods, the sensitivity to limitations resolved by purposeful enumeration, or educating the self with planetary effects of capitalist tendencies are minor gestures of how the artist challenges the current environmental management paradigm.
Text by Con Cabrera
Works produced with John Carlo Reyes, Orlino Pando and Robby Salas