26 November – 15 December 2006
Pinto Art Gallery, Antipolo City, Philippines
MANIBALANG (Artist’s Statement)
Inherent within every seed is the will to grow. So it is with people, we are born with the memory of a promise to become; to thrive and to flourish. We celebrate harvest as part of that fulfilment. But becoming extends unto withering and decay, and finally… rest. In this silent space, a choice is made and the promise is renewed.
Growth also depends on the land that facilitates this living process. Somewhere in our past, this nurturing ground has been appropriated, tampered with and abused. We are by-products of such interventions, interbred with both accordant and incompatible mixtures. The crossbreeding may be beneficial, but with conquering kinds, cohabitation is oppressive. As we continue to propagate, how else could we emerge from these delineated structures? We have become parasites in bodies we’ve formerly owned; forced to believe in a genesis of a different lineage. So we pretend to fit in its genealogy.
ULINIG (Artist’s Statement)
These series of paintings attempts to merge several conventions. One of painting, another of film; this animated image also invites the viewer to lip read and to read though the images similar to the process of reading a book.
This also leads us to observe the nature of habitation. Since the inhabitant works his or her way within the parameters of a given structure. This is true in nature but is more pronounced in the world of industry. The painted portraits are tenants who settle within the divisions. They are limited in compartments. As individuals, they may be speechless. Together, they find a way to convey a message.
