As the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival goes on-site, five (5) parallel exhibitions for Cinemalaya viewers are presented.
The exhibitions include the Cinemalaya 18 Competition Films Exhibit which showcases primarily memorabilia from the set and some behind-the-scenes’ images from the 11 full-length films and 12 short films. This exhibit can be found at the Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco or the Little Theater Lobby located on the ground floor of CCP.
To showcase the roster of films for screening at this year’s festival, Cinemalaya 18 Festival Posters Exhibit at the Pasilyo Vicente Manansala or the Second Floor Hallway Gallery displays the film posters for the Cinemalaya 18 Main Competition (Full-Length and Short Films), Retrospective Shorts section, Tribute, and 34th Gawad Alternatibo. It also carries the poster of the opening film, Leonor Will Never Die, and the closing films — the documentaries Delikado followed by We Don’t Dance for Nothing. This is a first for the festival to close its run with documentary films to mark their importance in succeeding festivals.
An exhibition highlighting the recently conferred National Artists for Film and Broadcast Arts at the Pasilyo Guillermo Tolentino or Third Floor Hallway Gallery is dedicated to Nora Aunor, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, and Ricardo “Ricky” Lee.
To provide a glimpse of their artistic practices, images from the films written by Lee namely Himala (1982) featuring Aunor, and the trilogy Brutal (1980), Moral (1982), and Karnal (1983) directed by Diaz-Abaya are featured on the exhibit.
Cinemalaya Filmmakers’ Images Exhibit presents filmmakers who have joined the competition since 2005, along with their award-winning film entries. Located at the Bulwagang Juan Luna or the Main Gallery on the third floor, Cinemalaya filmmakers in the past 18 years can leave their autographs on their photos while visitors can drop by at the Cinemalaya Lounge by Latitude.
Idan Cruz, better known as actor John Lloyd Cruz captures the Cinemalaya 18 Filmmakers’ Portraits displayed at the Main Theater Lobby on the first floor. Since 2017, Cruz has been working on art photography and videography. This year, Cinemalaya chose the renowned actor as its official exhibition photographer – a shift in roles as the actor once directed in front of the camera took the turn to guide the filmmakers behind the scene for their photoshoot. Cruz took portraits of 18 filmmakers among the 26 in competition.
These five exhibitions are part of the 18th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival ongoing at the CCP until August 14. You can visit them at the CCP from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
For more details about the exhibitions, visit the CCP and Cinemalaya websites. Follow the CCP and Cinemalaya official social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The Ika-34 GAWAD CCP Para sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video, or Gawad Alternatibo continues to showcase this year’s finalists of various films at the newly launched CCP Arthouse Cinema or Tanghalang Manuel Conde (TMC) this August 6-14, 2022.
This year’s theme, ‘GIYA – Tahakin at panoorin ang mga pelikulang giya ng ating panahon.’, showcases the ability of films to act as a guide for people as they navigate through life changes. The theme emphasizes that “Memory and history have blind spots. The ineffable escapes and defies language. But film, where shadows lurk and tease darkness and light, will provide us the lens to sift through contradictions, will mark the limits of chaos, and serve as a beacon of a nation’s becoming.”
The 34th Gawad Alternatibo is held in four (4) main categories – Animation, Documentary, Experimental, and Short Feature.
There will be ten (10) entries for Animation, ten (10) for Documentary, eleven (11) for Experimental, and fifteen (15) for Short Feature.
The winners will be chosen by respective Jury Members per category: Animation – Deborah Tudtud (Chairperson), Danilo Montano, and Wayie Canoy; Documentary – Lester Valle (Chairperson), Alyx Arumpac, and Joanna Arong; Experimental – King Catoy (Chairperson), Rhine Bernardino, and Tad Ermitaño; and Short Feature – Jason Tan Liwag (Chairperson), Jun Sabayton, and Tara Illenberger.
Talkbacks will be held on August 6 for Documentary, August 7 for Experimental and Animation, and August 8 for Short Feature. Exhibition sections such as the Curated List and Retrospective films feature the GAWAD Alternatibo Winners from 2020 to 2021.
The Gawad Alternatibo, established in 1987, is recognized as the longest-running independent film and video competition of its kind in Asia. It is one of the main highlights of the 18th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, which also runs from August 5-14, 2022. The Gawad Awards Night will be held on August 13 (Saturday), 2022 at 6:15 p.m. at the CCP Arthouse Cinema or TMC.
Visit www.gawadalternatibo.org and www.facebook.com/gawadalt to learn more about Gawad Alternatibo. For information on the 18th Cinemalaya Film Festival screening schedules and other offerings, follow the official CCP and Cinemalaya social media sites on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For additional information, go to the CCP website at www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.
After two and a half years of not being able to physically sing together, the Sing Philippines Youth Choir (SPYC) Tour Group was finally reunited and organized by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Cultural Exchange Department (CED) in partnership with the Andrea O. Veneracion (AOV) Sing Philippines Foundation and the Philippine Madrigal Singers for an outreach music camp and performance ongoing held last July 18-24, 2022 in San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan and the CCP. The project was a continuation of the group’s choral training that began in 2019 in Batangas and Bohol, but was forced to shift to virtual in 2020 due to the pandemic.
First organized and launched in 2014, the first batch of SPYC was participated by fifty (50) choristers from 19 provinces across the country who underwent a professional week-long music camp under MADZ choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio. The Sing Philippines movement brings to life National Artist Andrea O. Veneracion’s vision of a nation singing in harmony and united in songs. The second batch was organized in 2016 which added a new set of 50 singers from 26 provinces, the third batch in 2018 had 51 singers from 37 provinces/cities and the 4th batch last year composed of 59 singers from 25 provinces had a virtual training and performance. To date, the SPYC totals to 213 singers from 56 local communities all over the country.
Carpio underscores the importance of continuous training and performing together for chorale singers. “In the arts, such as in singing, the moment we claim to know everything is the moment we begin to deteriorate. Singing, in whatever form, may be compared to swimming: the only way to be better and move forward is to keep on swimming.”
Carmencita “Chinggay” Jasareno-Bernardo, CCP Cultural Exchange Department Manager expressed “We are grateful to be able to go back (physically) to the local communities to implement our outreach programs. Although there are added measures that we need to strictly observe due to the ongoing pandemic, the artists and cultural workers are really happy and thankful to be able to engage once again in creative and cultural work. It means a lot to them and to us because in the past two and a half years of the pandemic, we have seen how the arts have helped many people and communities cope with various struggles in life. And this is the reason why we pursue our mission to contribute to the healing process by way of our outreach programs in music, dance, theater and other art forms”.
This year’s music camp is hosted by the City of San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan through its Tourism Operations Office. The SPYC Tour Group had its outreach performance at the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto Shrine in San Jose Del Monte City Bulacan on July 22 at 3:00pm which was streamed live via the CCP CED Facebook (FB) page.
For more information, contact the CCP CED FB page or thru email at ccp.ced2014@gmail.com, and the FB pages of the AOV Sing Philippines and City of San Jose Del Monte Tourism.
The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) has announced the winners of its inaugural CCP Animation, Comics, and Computer Games Grants Program. Seventeen individuals from all over the country won grants amounting to over 16 million pesos to develop computer games, animation and comics.
The winners are:
COMPUTER GAMES PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY
1. Ranida Games’ Sinag – San Pedro, Laguna
2. Metamedia Information Systems Corp.’s Treasure Seekers – Mandaluyong
3. Synthillate’s Pearls of Asia – Ortigas, Pasig
COMPUTER GAMES INDEPENDENT CATEGORY
1. kendikorp’s Galá – Las Piñas City
2. Katakata Creative’s Kata – Parañaque City
3. Makiling Interactive Arts’ San Fernando – Los Baños, Laguna
ANIMATION CATEGORY
1. Friendly Foes’ Makopa – San Juan, Metro Manila
2. KOMIKET INC.’s Tungkung Langit at Laon Sina – Makati City
3. Fizzbuzz, Inc.’s Tiki – Cebu City
4. Lea Zoraina Sindao Lim’s Datu Pat i Mata – Cotabato City, Maguindanao
COMICS CATEGORY
1. Randy P. Valiente’s Lalang Kalibutan – Antipolo City
2. Ethel Mae Reyes’ Tulogmatian – Iloilo City
3. Julius Sempio’s Teduray – Bulacan City
4. Alfred Ismael Galaroza’s Sinogo – Cebu City
5. Marco Sumayao’s Legend of Sleeping Beauty Mountain – Quezon City
6. Ruel Garcia Enoya’s Bantugen – Manila City
7. Anabelle Marie D. Laureola’s Sun says Moon says – Manila City
The winners were chosen from 39 submissions from Game Developers (29 Independent Game Developers and 10 professional Game Developers); 65 submissions for Animation and Comics (36 Applicants for Comics and 29 Applicants for Animation).
Three Professional Games grantees were awarded Php1.5 million each and three Independent Games grantees were awarded Php300,000 each.
Four Animation Grantees were awarded Php2 million each and 7 Comics grantees were awarded Php330,000 each.
“The CCP grants programs for game developers, animators and comic artists are pioneer projects initiated by the CCP Board of Trustees in support of its mandate in preserving, promoting and making known of timeless stories, myths, legends and other forms of communication through digital art forms in support of our country’s creative economy,” CCP Trustee Nikki Junia says.
Furthermore, CCP Trustee Benedict Carandang hopes that the seed investment of the CCP will help encourage future government legislators to support and fund programs like this that can help stimulate the local Creative Economy and emulate the success stories of South Korea and Malaysia in Digital Content Development.
Aside from awarding funding to grantees, the CCP also has partnered with the Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines, Inc. (SIKAP) to train the grantees through a learning series program.
SIKAP is a non-profit association that has a simple vision in mind: locally created content, consumed globally. It aims to mentor and nurture a community of creators who are able to prepare, develop, sell and license their intellectual properties competitively.
Through the partnership, CCP and SIKAP work towards identifying and tapping industry leaders and practitioners to provide a more holistic understanding of the comics and animation industries. The learning series was developed to educate and inspire ways for our creators to move towards a more sustainable creative future. Some of the topics for the learning series include story and visual development but it also covers learning opportunities on production costs, financing, copyright, distribution strategies, and more.
“We have a long history of producing comics and animation. But we’ve always been viewed as hired talent. It simply isn’t sustainable and it doesn’t help us in the long run. What we really need are real investments that provide opportunities for Filipino creators to develop our storytelling and producing skills to make this sustainable,” Ayeen Pineda, SIKAP Board Director. “This is why SIKAP supports CCP in providing creators an opportunity to tell Filipino stories. Although the current Grants Program focuses on Filipino folktales, myths and legends, we also hope it expands to include original Filipino stories of any genre in the future.”
For more information about the CCP, please follow the official CCP social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Mula sa Buwan is an original Filipino musical based on Edmond Rostand’s timeless classic Cyrano de Bergerac. However, this is not your usual Cyrano. Although it retains the plot of unrequited love, question of beauty and the relentless battle against compromise, the beloved story has been reimagined to tell a more familiar story: OURS.
Now set in 1940’s Manila, the musical now features wide-eyed dreamers, fools, and misfits where harana, kundiman, together with passion and genuine friendships abound! Through wit, stories, and music, they dream and fight for their place in an ever-changing city. However, when war strikes, love, ideals, and truth are all tested–the young now forced to suddenly “grow up”.
The musical moves to a time after the war, to a field of rubble, of forgotten memories, of heroes lost in a country struggling to survive. At the center of it all is the unrequited and heartbreaking love story between the poet Cyrano, his beloved Roxane, and the kind-hearted Christian.
Created by Pat Valera and William Elvin Manzano in 2010, Mula sa Buwan has been staged numerous times with each version (GSIS Theater; 2011, Irwin Theater; 2016, Arete; 2018) becoming ever more spectacular—without losing the raging love of the play.
PRODUCERS: Barefoot Theatre Collaborative (BTC) WHERE: Samsung Performing Arts Theater, Circuit Makati WHEN: AUGUST 26—SEPTEMBER 11, 2022 (THIRTEEN SHOWS ONLY) August 26, 2022 – 7:30 PM — OPENING NIGHT August 27, 2022 – 7:30 PM August 28, 2022 – 7:30 PM September 2, 2022 – 7:30 PM September 3, 2022 – 2:00 PM September 3, 2022 – 7:30 PM September 4, 2022 – 2:00 PM September 4, 2022 – 7:30 PM September 9, 2022 – 7:30 PM September 10, 2022 – 2:00 PM September 10, 2022 – 7:30 PM September 11, 2022 – 2:00 PM September 11, 2022 – 7:30 PM — CLOSING NIGHT WHO: Book & Direction by Pat Valera Original Lyrics by William Elvin Manzano & Pat Valera Original Music by William Elvin Manzano Based on Edmond Rostand’s “Cyrano de Bergerac” and Soc Rodrigo’s Filipino translation Featuring: Myke Salomon as Cyrano Gab Pangilinan as Roxane Markki Stroem as Christian Now, on its final version, we invite you to join us as we all journey to the moon! For inquires, visit mulasabuwan.com, ticketworld.com.ph or mulasabuwan.com/tickets
Artist Henry Moore once said, “Art is the expression of imagination, not the duplication of reality.”
And while there is room for intellectual discourse in relation to his statement, the British sculptor does make a strong point. A true artist is not judged by skills alone or how good they follow rules but how they break it to bring forth something different.
Fifteen artists from Taytay, Rizal showcase some of their latest works that encompass different artistic styles from portraits, surrealism, impressionism, and abstractionism, in ARTablado’s latest exhibit “Balintataw”.
“Balintataw” means imagination and there is abundance of it in this exhibition that brings forward into the limelight the ability of the artists to express their creative genius whether in drawing, painting, sculpture, and all the other medium afforded them. It is the collective hope by the members of “Tropang Pintor ng Taytay” that through the visual imagery they present, their messages and stories jump from the canvas and into its viewers’ consciousness.
Linda Ang is a self-taught artist who became interested in painting when she moved to Taytay in 1996. An abstractionist who isn’t afraid to use strong colors, Linda translates into the canvas her views of everyday life.
Chino del Pilar is a fashion consultant for the Fashion Institute of the Philippines. Through his art, he is able to express his innate aesthetic knowledge, much like the gowns that he designs that have been described as being clean, elegant, and sophisticated.
At 73 years of age, Fernando Javellano is a sculptor who uses scrap metal and junk, found objects that most of us barely pay attention to. But when Javellano transforms them into his own art form, it becomes a different creature altogether, taking the form of a seahorse or an owl. A former Tagalog Komiks scriptwriter, Fernando bagged the “Honorable Mention” in the sculpture category of the AAP Annual Art Competition in 2013 and 2014.
Ana Lacampuenga-Pellejera’s works impress in their almost photorealistic quality. Her oil on canvas pieces portray everything wonderful about the Filipino culture, from kids playing on swings, drawing on paper using crayons, lovers enjoying a traditional Filipino dance in barong and saya, and even something as normal as a father giving his child a ride on his back. The youngest daughter of the late artist Eduardo Lacampuenga, Ana is one artist to look out for.
Reggie Lim, another self-taught artist, draws influence from his hometown and much like others, experimented with different techniques, styles, and mediums. He finally decided to concentrate on still life with flowers and plants as his subjects.
Jerel Limayo is a multidisciplinary artist with a taste for the obscure and the abstract. His works can at times be muted and at some times loud, a clear indication of his strength as an artist who looks to immerse his viewers into another world through visuals and sounds.
Having been an inbetweener in Studio Next One and Fil-Cartoons at Hanna Barbera Philippines, it came natural for artist Joji Limayo to select pop art as his main subject. An awardee of several national art contests, he hopes to inspire his audience with his figures that though may be cartoonish in nature, actually presents a social commentary of modern days.
Ronald Limayo has had his works exhibited not just in Taytay but also in New York (2002, 2004). A multi-awarded artist in local competitions, Ronald is also a photographer who paints about in a manner that provides a sense relaxation to its viewers through the warm tones and the variety of elements he includes inside the canvas.
Gerry Marasigan is an architectural designer who previously worked for Francisco Manosa & Partners, Arcenas Payumo Andrew, The Hulbert Group Australia, and KPMA Malaysia. Gerry’s waterfalls series has an ethereal aspect to it that one can almost hear the waters and feel the overpowering sound of nature.
Jonalyn Villar-Montero has shown interest in art at a very young age and she paid it forward by being an art teacher and coach to grade school students. Her works focus on the portraiture of the female subject in her many different roles in life and she does this very well whether using charcoal, pastel, oil, or acrylic.
Victor Olano is a product of the University of the Philippines and his colorful works give an impression of calm whether it’s that of two parrots, a rainy night in town, or even a misty forest. Victor works for an international healthcare company.
John Perry Pellejera is a self-thought artist whose passion in visual arts delves in surrealism and contemporary paintings. He usually paints women whose faces are half-covered with a crown, which the artist says represents intellectuality and spirituality. The artist is a many-time finalist and semi-finalist in different local competitions such as the GSIS National Art Competition and Metrobank MADE.
Butch Reyes is an artist whose interest in tattoo led to his career to be considered self-made. He runs his Lucky 31 tattoo shop while continuing to paint surreal style and graffiti art.
James Sanorjo Jr. is a product of Bicol University in Legaspi City. A teacher for 22 years, he shared his passion for the arts to a new generation of young artists. His style portrays human figures and objects in a fantastical manner that livens up the space around it. He recently won first place in the 17th GSIS Art Competition.
Ponciano Zapanta is a long-time member of the Group Artists of Taytay where he served as president in 1996 and director from 1997 to the present. A multi-awarded artist here and abroad, he considers Alphonse Mucha, Godofredo Zapanta Sr., and Vicente Manansala as influential to his work. Despite having Godofredo Sr., his cousin, as a mentor once, “Ponz” says that it was Manansala’s transparent cubism he gravitates towards.
“Balintataw” runs until July 31 as part of Robinsons Land ARTablado’s continuing support for Filipino artist by providing them a second home at Robinsons Place Antipolo. Taytay artists are unique individuals and each has their own inspiration to draw from but it is their creative depth and maturity that brings them together.
“Balintataw” strengthens the belief that art has no boundaries, complementing ARTablado’s theme for the year is “BOUNDLESS”. These words perfectly define the profile of the artists it features because it gives them a platform to showcase their works regardless of age, gender, social status, or religious beliefs.
The first lock-in workshop-mentoring of Ternocon 3 held last week at the Teachers’ Conference Center in Batangas City culminated last July 10, 2022.
For the last day of the workshop, the finalists completed their toiles (an initial version of a garment) for the competition and presented them to mentors Joey Samson, Dennis Lustico and Chito Vijandre with Ricky Toledo. In the evening, a closing program was hosted by the City Government of Batangas at the Sampaguita Farm where CCP President and officer-in-charge of the Artistic Director’s Office Margarita Moran-Floirendo was present along with Atty. Reginald Dimacuha, Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Mayor of Batangas City. The 1930s balintawak ternos made by the finalists were worn by the dancers of Likhang Sining Dance Company in a special Subli dance performance.
Ternocon Artistic Director Gino Gonzales acknowledged the continuing support of the CCP and Bench thru the generosity of Ben Chan, Chairman. He addressed the finalists and emphasized “Ternocon allows its participants to undergo a process that involves attitude change, as we are not merely addressing fashion or dress issues. Our country has so many problems, and we simply cannot solve everything. As designers, you can be part of the solution by dealing with issues within your backyard. When you grapple with the national dress and make it for your countrymen, you make a significant contribution to the nation. At TERNOCON, we all come from different backgrounds and perspectives, different religions, different regions, different political inclinations… but what unites all of us together is our love for country, and I think this should be your primary motivation for creating ternos that will be showcased at the CCP stage in the final phase of this competition. Love for country.”
In her closing message, Ms. Floirendo stressed that “Ternocon has somehow made a good impact on how Filipinos of today think of the terno. We have seen a remarkable increase in the number of Filipinas wearing the terno for many different occasions. Despite this, we all know that we still have a long way to go in fulfilling our mission. But with everyone’s support and cooperation, we can succeed.”
The 12 finalists are: Amor Albano (Ilocos Norte), Glyn Alley Magtibay (Oriental Mindoro), Bon Hansen Reyes (Rizal) and Gabbie Sarenas (Rizal) from Luzon. Bree Esplanada (Cebu), Karl Nadales (Iloilo), Al Rey Rosano (Negros Oriental) and Marc Carcillar (Iloilo) from Visayas. Glady Rose Pantua (Zamboanga) and Ron Santos (Davao) from Mindanao. From the National Capital Region (NCR), Yssa Inumerable (Parañaque) and Cheetah Rivera (Quezon City). The three semi-finalists who are from Batangas and NCR are Geom Hernandez, Dee Javier (Manila) and Daryl Maat (Caloocan).
Ternocon 3 is a joint undertaking of CCP thru its Cultural Exchange Department and Bench/Suyen Corporation in cooperation with local partners, Batangas City Government and the Barasoain Kalinangan Foundation Inc.
The next round of consultations (face-to-face and online) will be in August-September, while the 2nd part of the workshop-mentoring will be in October 2022. The final competition with cultural show is slated for January 28, 2023 at the new CCP Black Box Theater or Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez.
The Cultural Center of the Philippines is pleased to announce the fellows accepted to the Virgin Labfest Writing Fellowship Program in the Visayas which will take place on July 19-31, 2022 in Bacolod City:
Archel G. Barayoga
Jasper John V. Cabra
Faye Lisette P. Gachon
Nicole Garganera
Pnuema Lorena C. Lorenzo
Jim Benedict D. Lubrico
Rocky O. Nicor
Daveson E. Torculas
The Virgin Labfest Writing Fellowship Program in the Visayas is a two-week mentorship program on the study and practice of dramatic writing for the stage. The Fellows from the Visayas region will take part in lectures, discussions, and workshops on playwriting and script critiquing. They will also be given access to watch recordings of selected past festival plays, as well as the opportunity to participate in the talkback and interaction with known playwrights and directors.
The eight (8) fellows accepted to the program will be mentored by multi-award-winning playwright Glenn Sevilla Mas, and will be given access to past festival plays as part of their mentorship. The Fellowship Program will conclude in a staged reading of the fellows’ works directed by Dennis Marasigan which will take place at the Negros Museum on July 31, 2022, 6:30PM.
The Virgin Labfest Writing Fellowship Program in the Visayas is a project of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Writer’s Bloc in collaboration with the Province of Negros Occidental, The PerfLab, and the Negros Museum.
When Robinsons Land launched ARTablado (a portmanteau of “art” and “entablado”) in 2020, the goal was to provide a platform for the best in Filipino art, putting the spotlight on artists from all walks of life. Later that year, it launched its first-ever national painting competition with the theme “Create,” since Robinsons Land ARTablado believes that in every Filipino lies a spark of brilliance just waiting to be illuminated. And even in the middle of a pandemic, Robinsons Land ARTablado decided on pushing through with the competition as a way of helping Filipino artists get through a crisis of such global scale.
The grand prize winner in the Representational category was Ambrocio Mallari, an artist who proves that art is ageless, limitless and undeniably boundless. (“Boundless,” by the way, is the theme for this year’s ARTablado initiative.)
Two years after his victory at the ARTablado Create Painting Competition, Mallari mounts his first solo exhibition titled “Nostalgia: Ode to Art Journey” at Robinsons Land ARTablado in Level 3 of Robinsons Galleria.
Ambrocio shares how totally unexpected his victory was. “Hindi ko po inaasahan dahil sa dami ng kalahok. Simple lamang ang aking istilo gamit ang oil on canvas na siyang dinalubhasa ko ng maraming taong pagsasanay—mula pa noong ako ay nasa advertising noong 1972.” And those decades of honing his craft have distilled Mallari’s vision into its essence with his winning piece titled “Kanlungan ng Lahi.”
He talks about the particular artwork: “Ang Pilipinas ay tahanan ng ibat’-ibang pangkat na hinulma ng kasaysayan. Kanlungan ito ng iba’t-ibang tribo at pangkat etniko na bumubuo sa mayamang kultura ng lahing Pilipino.”
For Mallari’s ARTabalado exhibition which is on view from July 16 – 31, the artist attempts to recreate the past by “not caricaturing the moment, but instead rendering its former glory.”
He amplifies, “I want to celebrate the human, the marks that people make upon the world. Treasure the local, the ordinary, the eccentric, the simple life that I experienced growing up in the province. I want to capture the rich culture of our nation with its story and history as well as the icons that marked the glory.”
Mallari goes for a throwback to those glorious days of hand-painted movie posters and billboards in the late Seventies that remind him of bittersweet memories—the hardships in life cushioned by a daily dalliance with paint, canvas and inspiration.
Thus, “Nostalgia: Ode to Art Journey” is an artist’s grand statement about “remembering the past, celebrating the present, and looking forward to a better future.”
Mallari concludes, “Malaki po ang pasasalamat ko sa RLC’s ARTablado. Dahil sa patimpalak na ito, akin pong napatunayan na sa tulong ng Panginoon at ng pagsusumikap ay maaari pang ipagpatuloy ang pangarap sa kabila ng mga pagsubok na pinagdaanan.”
Even at the age of 65, Ambrocio Mallari feels that his journey as an artist is about to get more interesting.
“The Artist Is Alive” Digital Exhibition by Jasper Castro and curated by Raymond Tribdino goes online this July 15, 2022 at www.theartistisalive.online, inviting the world into an immersive ASMR Art experience for anyone who can access the internet.
Labor Bae (Acrylic on canvas, 4×4 feet)
The exhibition is best experienced with a desktop or by connecting to a larger screen, and a pair of headphones as it would enable the audience to simultaneously take in both the paintings and the recorded spoken word poetry. Through this multidimensional rendering, both audience and artist are looking and hearing the same thing in the most intimate set-up–bringing their psyche to the same place. Aiming to be a notch above walking in someone else’s shoes, it’s being in the artist’s bipolar brain. With this extreme empathy, the artist hopes to connect and befriend the audience as she handholds them through the exhibit to listen to her deepest darkest secrets.
How do you make friends? For her first day at school, her mother advised: smile! But that didn’t work and she was bullied. In college, she discovered a technique herself: start with a secret. She would make friends with random girls by talking about crushes. Opening up on the get-go inevitably created a safe space where others could open up too.
The primary reason this exhibit works as a safe space is that it starts with the artist completely opening her heart and her secrets to the world. By taking the first step, she hopes that the audience, too, would trust her as they dive in, and attempt to find healing together.
Everyone needs to heal.
The exhibit comes at the tail-end of a pandemic that has left almost everyone with surprising and unwelcome self-discoveries about the limits of their mental health.
Jasper discovered the limit of her own mental health in her early twenties when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A series of heartbreaks led to years-long clinical depression that stole years of her life. She and her doctor agreed that the blow-up was a long time coming, as symptoms for the disorder had been present since she was a suicidal 4-year-old. However, it was held off for a long time partly thanks to her consistent dedication to the arts.
When Jasper finally got out of her depression, she found she was a completely different person, as though she was reborn. She didn’t love this new self with her new larger frame, and new somber personality–but she understood that these changes had been necessary for her to survive through a difficult time.
In this series of artworks, Jasper finds her way back into loving herself, embracing every phase of her moods, and every facet of her personality. Here, she lays it all out in the open–confessions about desires, frustrations, dreams amplified by triggers, and episodes of mania and depression. Laid out before her, she can find the beauty in them, and despite the temptation for self-loathing, here she learns to forgive herself.
Pushing the limit of expression and getting her message across, Jasper combines her two main mediums: painting and poetry. The audio and visual cues then propel her audience to a destination beyond color and words, serving as coordinates to a third space where both artist and audience share the same mind.
In Trigger, she encapsulates the moment that could lead to a mental downward spiral. A Beta Loves To Fight captures that second before a big angry blow-up. She renders anger in its complex contradictions: soft fluffy afro decked in metallic, harsh shadows on a gentle face, and a fighting fish primed to fight housed in bubble gum. In Heaven’s Looking Down she seeks to express a more subtle trigger that’s harder to pinpoint: disappointment.
The Mangic of My Boston Ferns
In Mania, she sears vibrating, creative manic energy onto her canvas with two pieces that both heavily feature nature that thrives, survives, and thrums amid adversity: the desert cactus and the low-maintenance Boston fern. In Honest Oasis, she confesses her sexuality, and loneliness–two strong emotions amplified during manic episodes. It’s also in Honest Oasis that The Artist is Alive finds its essence: the raw, naked attempt to unify a fragmented self. In The Mangic of My Boston Ferns, she explores creative manic insomnia, delights in how it can be a creative power up but also doesn’t discount the price to pay.
A Floating Lesson (acrylic on canvas)
In Depression, Jasper presents two situations of emotional downward spiraling. My Purple Heart is about coping with the aftermath of rejection through projecting love towards the distant and impossible, to temporarily house a heart longing to love. In Spiral Of Threes, she describes the repetitive, cyclical nature of depression–that it comes with warnings all the time, and yet remains unstoppable as it devours, like crawling poison ivy eating away an immobile house, a pinned down body.
Respite serves as the meditative rest in this series, an important calming ending to a long and winding journey. A Floating Lesson is about learning to breathe and relax when overstimulated by life’s torrential river. Hatch is about finding solace in sleep and learning to shut everything down.
The series ends with Labor Bae, which uses her fascination with nature and honeybees to talk about the formidable task of embracing one’s vocation–whether as a floral-scented short lived spring bee, an autumn bee that lives long but spends most of its life huddled in the hive for winter, or as a long-lasting lonely Queen Bee powerful yet damned to spend her whole life in the hive. The woman sits amid gigantic crimson poppy flowers–an ode to Morpheus, the god of dreams who fuels her art.
The whole collection is a celebration of a fact that the artist shares with the audience: that they are alive. Through the ups and downs, they have survived. The artist announces her presence by using herself as the subject in many of the paintings and also through her susurrous poetry. As the audience journeys with her from brokenness to building herself back again, she bravely brings her secrets out into the open. As Jasper defiantly amplifies her voice, refusing to be silenced, giving it her all–with her colors and her words–she whispers one last desire into the world: she hopes to inspire you to share your secrets, too.
