A few updates, I suppose. Sometimes, I need these assessment things to kind of prove to myself that I’m actually doing things. It’s kind of hard to remember when you are in charge of your time, and it seems like a lot of it goes to television and eating and invasive Tumblr memes.

Above: Lunar Landing, 2011. This: Science Year, 2011.

After Hours, 2011.

Missya (detail), 2011. This is a small part of a whole, which happens to be a part of a big series.

Aside from these things, I’ve been quite busy with client work, which I am thankful for. But sometimes, I feel like crashing my head through a wall. Sometimes, it really pays off, though. One of my recent projects is called Roadtrip Zambales, which is an effort to draw more people to beautiful Zambales! Here is the teaser. I had nothing to do with it, but it’s beautiful nonetheless.

Other exciting things also happened in the week that was, but I’m a bit too tired and knackered to talk about them. After all, it’s half past four in the morning. Lately, I’ve been thinking about my place in the world and it just depresses me. It depresses me that I constantly feel like I’m not doing enough and  that people look down on me. It’s really just ramblings of an ex-high school loser, but sometimes, it really can’t be helped. It’s been growing more intensely, and I don’t know what to do, so I bury myself in work and t.v. and lots and lots of tea. Anyway.

Until then, I hope you enjoy these. I’ll be back with exciting new projects, and perhaps pictures. Good night.

On our last day in Singapore, we went to visit Geraldine Javier’s “Museum of Many Things” at Valentine Willie Fine Art (VWFA). We already saw some photographs from the opening night, and I personally couldn’t wait to see it.

It’s a little heard-it-through-the-grapevine, but Tito Rene and Tita Elaine said that Geraldine told them she feels like this is her best show. I like it a lot—it’s thematically consistent with the work that she’s known for, but also different enough to distinguish it from her other work. There is a very strong relation to death (obviously) and she generally works with dark themes and images.

Museum of Many Things is very overwhelming. There are a lot of dioramas and cabinets filled with weird objects. My brother said it was like stepping into a witch doctor’s house.

I like Geraldine’s work because she manages to make these darknesses somehow cheeky. There are a lot of things here that made me laugh (on the inside), despite being surrounded by skeletons and stuffed dead animals. There was one diorama where a skeletal frog appeared to be preparing food in a makeshift kitchen, and another one featuring two frog skeletons seemingly in the throes of passion. I find it so funny when I spot a bunch of frogs that look like they are sharing stories around a campfire or something.

Some of the walls were painted an emerald green, and it reminded me of hunting parties and cigar rooms (or whatever you call them) with stuffed animal heads mounted on the wall. I particularly liked this series called “Blood Homage,” which features cow skulls with crocheted cozies.

There are also eerie pieces, like this hard-to-photograph mixed media piece called “Black Tree,” which looks like it is growing and melting at the same time. In the midst of melting wax, hair and thread are creatures’ limbs. It’s an effectively haunting piece. I’m sad I wasn’t able to capture it properly and do it justice.

I like the exhibit as a whole. It was refreshing and is definitely something to be delighted by. It was a joy to inspect and probe. I forgot to mention that it was the exhibit where I felt like she was able to really, successfully incorporate crochet into her work without it appearing too forced. It was just a perfect addition to the skeletons and skulls.

But I still do miss her paintings.

Museum of Many Things
Geraldine Javier
November 5-26, 2011

Valentine Willie Fine Art
ARTSPACE@Helutrans,
39 Keppel Road,
Tanjong Pagar Distripark,
#02-04, S089065

http://vwfa.net/sg

Other photos and exhibit details under the cut.

I have a soft spot for series and projects. I keep on starting and restarting personal projects myself, but I don’t think any of them have taken off so well (LOL). A few of my online favorites are Jessica Hische’s Daily Drop Cap, Austin Radcliffe’s Things Organized Neatly, Nerd Boyfriend, The Selby, The Fox is Black’s Space Suit of the Week, Miss Moss’ Things I Like Right Now, Molly Ford’s Smart, Pretty, Awkward, and so on.

I also like Nick Zinner’s “Beds” series, where he took photos of beds he’s slept on when he was touring with the rest of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I suspect that this aspect of sameness-but-not is what drew me to the Roberto Chabet show in Galleria Duemila last month. There’s just something satisfyingly whole when it comes to collections and series. You see connections and similarities, and also differences.

A lot of people have also been asking me to share a few of my favorite local blogs, and I figure that this would be a good start! Here’s a list of some of the local projects and series that I enjoy quite a bit.

1. ANIK ANIK LOVE
by Mitch Mauricio • http://anikaniklove.blogspot.com/

Anik Anik Love is a series that I stumbled upon when my friend linked his other friend’s feature on the site. Mitch Mauricio goes around and photographs creatives from all walks of life and their sacred space. I’m kind of a nomad (I share a room with my sister), so I just work wherever, but it’s inspiring to see where beautiful things are made.

Right now, Mitch’s own space is featured in Real Living Magazine (October 2011). She’s a photographer, and I met her about a month or so ago. She’s really nice, on top of being quite talented. Also! Isn’t this one of the best projects? I made a few attempts at it a long time ago, but Mitch captures space in a pretty extraordinary way.

2. SPACES
by Zet Diaz • http://spaces.withstrangers.com/

Newly launched by Zet Diaz, Spaces is a look into “spaces” all over the world. Unlike Anik Anik Love, this isn’t limited to workspaces or living areas, but explores what the personal idea of “space” is.

It’s not simply a show and tell of “this is where I work,” but a telling of the story of these spaces, and what it means to these people. I think her goal is to sort of find a way to make each base in the world covered. So far, she’s gotten pretty awesome people to be a part of the project. I’m so excited for future entries—for one in particular—and this is definitely a project to watch.

3. DISPLAY
by Sarie Cruz • http://vimeo.com/sariecruz/

Sarie Cruz likes making films and looking at art. Merge these two interests together and you have a pretty genius project that I’m surprised no one I’ve heard of has been doing yet. Display is, essentially, a series of films that showcase art shows, exhibits, and events in Manila—in video form.

I document shows with pictures and words all the time, but that doesn’t quite capture the “thereness” one feels when going to an art show. Display is a step closer to that. It’s awesome because it captures part of the feeling of being there, despite the temporariness of exhibits. Because of the fleetingness of these shows, Sarie wanted to make the viewer feel somehow a part of it, despite not having been there or being far away.

There are, so far, only two up right now, but I know that she has a lot of footage she’s working on piecing together.

4. THE GRIM REPAT
by Mara Coson • http://thegrimrepat.wordpress.com/

I don’t know if you guys know this, but I had short-lived dreams of being a vlogger. If I did manage to make that work, I’d have loved it to have been like this. The Grim Repat is Mara Coson’s approach to repatriation, after being away from Manila so long. Three episodes are up now, and all are pretty fun to watch, despite the general vlog rule of “3 minutes and under.”

Part of what makes it interesting is the format. Typically, vloggers just set up their desk with a webcam and sit and talk in front of it. Sometimes, they go outside. Mara puts together videos of her day and her environment, coupling them with other tidbits and clips from films and videos. Then, there’s the good writing. I like that her videos have a theme and a point. It’s just a refreshing change, with a strong, overarching idea to back it up.

5. THE HANDY-DANDY MAP PROJECT
by Kasey Albano • http://kaseyalbano.tumblr.com/

Kasey Albano has always been one of the designers in school that I felt “had it.” The Handy Dandy Map Project is one of her design series that I love. Currently, there are about three entries, and I sincerely hope that she pursues it.

She has another series up called the 30 Day Song x Design Challenge. She is barely halfway, which excites me a lot because it means that I have more to look forward to.

Other local projects I love and enjoy:

• Missed Connections Manila
• Drunken Dispatches
• Daylight by Gabby Cantero
  

  “Cause in the daylight anywhere feels like home.” — Daylight by Matt & Kim

  Portraits on a Saturday. Why? Really, nothing. All for fun. For hanging out with friends under the sun!

I’m just naming some off the top of my head. So, if you have any series or projects, or even blogs, that are dear to your heart, please know that I would love to hear about them.

I’m working on a series right now, with Cat, which I’m hoping will take off by this month. It’s exciting, and we both love it—which is why it is puzzling as to why it’s taking so long for the both of us. We’re both busy, but it’s sort of like a passion project, so we’re pretty excited for it, too. Hope you stay tuned!

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I get so excited and I’ve got nothing to regret
It sure beats sitting, I know I’m stuck inside watching television
Cold coffee and stale cigarettes

— “Another Sunny Afternoon” by Nickel Eye

I like laid-back days. The last time I saw Sarie, we were scrambling all over the place, from her mom’s Sinangag place (for a tasting!) to the Book Fair. I like calm, quiet drives and afternoons. After lunch today, we talked about Plans For The Future (AKA our respective portfolio plans), and then we dropped by Christina Quisumbing Ramilo’s exhibit, Book of Days, at Blanc Peninsula.

It was my first time at Blanc, and I quite loved the space and the huge windows. Late afternoon probably wasn’t the best time to go there to photograph the pieces, but I still loved all of them. I’m a huge fan of Ling Quisumbing and it was just such a joy to see her take apart and build on the idea and the structure of sandpaper and books.

I loved these pieces, where she took deconstructed sandpaper and layered them on top of each other, sewing them together to look like books propped open. Her works are just so rich in texture and perspective. Accompanying these pieces are sculptures, as well as a panel painted to look like used sandpaper.

Then we played with shadows.

Steaky Camouflage! I love this shirt thing from Bleach Catastrophe. It makes me feel like I’m wearing a cape. Not advisable when wearing a backpack, though. On my way out of an MRT station, I pulled my Baggu backpack on, and my shirt flew up and exposed Steaky, for all to see. It took me a while to pull it down, too, on account of the fact that I’m really clumsy.

This is the only pair of jeans I’ve been wearing for the past year. I inherited them from my brother who gave them to me because he thought they made him look like a Jonas brother. Then, these are the size 6 ½ Keds that I insisted on buying, and are currently one of my favorite pairs of shoes. They still fit me well (I’m a size 7 ½-8), thank goodness. They’re Navy eyelet with brass grommets and rope laces. I mean, c’mon! How can you say ‘no’ to that?

Are these really rubber trees? So pretty.

We were supposed to go to SOM’s, but we found that the Ayala Triangle Gardens was right across. Sarie was craving for chicken rice, so we opted for Wee Nam Kee, which was alright by me!

Probably should have gotten the steamed version, but I’m a sucker for roast chicken skin. Anyway, sweet soy + ginger + chicken rice = me, in food heaven. I was also thinking of getting the cereal prawns, but I remembered that I was on some kind of diet, so I restrained myself. It was still quite good, though.

We drove to Burgos Circle to get some Bar Dolci for me, after dinner, as I feel kind of incomplete without dessert. Then the quiet afternoon turned into a quiet night, as we turned phrases and asked questions and learned about the world. I like knowing that there are people in this world that I can talk to about anything. It makes me feel like a million dollars.

Book of Days is up in Blanc Peninsula until October 1, 2011. Here’s a map:

A few more photos of the exhibit under the cut!

I like it when my parents’ gallery opens exhibits. Aside from the obvious reasons (e.g. convenience, relentless bias), it’s always enjoyable because there are usually four shows up for display and consumption. Last Tuesday, four amazing artists—Mark Andy Garcia, Jigger Cruz, Dexter Fernandez, and Bjorn Calleja—had their works up! And I was pretty excited.

My favorite of the bunch were, predictably, Jigger’s and Dex’s. I don’t know if it’s because I’m most familiar with their work—it’s probably not—but I just felt so excited looking at their work.

Dead End
Jigger Cruz
Gallery 2

The one on the right is called “The Extremist,” and it’s a portrait of Jacques Derrida. My brother thought it was Freud. At one point Jigger was telling us the story behind it, and it fascinated me that there even was a story behind it.

Jigger’s work is the most aesthetically appealing to me, though, I like his old colors better. Comparing these pieces to his old works, there’s a lot more figurative images at play (vague but more pronounced renditions of what seem to me to be flowers?, for example) and a lot more paint. His applications are more liberal and seem more deliberate.

And, look! There was a sculpture, too.

X O X O X O
Dexter Fernandez
Gallery 3

Dex’s work is so cheeky to me. Looking through these works (I think there were about 40), I giggled and chortled so many times. In the words of someone that was there that night, but whose identity I have conveniently forgotten, to Dex, “Mabait ka kasi, kaya dinamitan mo sila.”

It made me think about subliminal messages, and what image our brains process, even when there’s nothing really obscene about what we see. Strictly speaking, Dex’s images are a bunch of people, with lots of different photos and colors strewn about around them. What’s funny is that even though those images and colors are loud and sort of in-your-face, it’s hard to keep your mind away from what you’re supposed to be seeing but aren’t (i.e., pornography).

I think it’s pretty clever, too, that these cover-ups actually somewhat calls to attention the lack of obscenity that you kind of expect. You end up filling in the blanks, whether you like it or not.

My favorite pieces were the ones with illustrations, and the one with cut-out holes that form a pattern. Optical illusion, sure, but you kind of know what you’re supposed to see anyway.

Acquainted with the Night
Mark Andy Garcia
Gallery 1

Some Failed Attempts In Creating A Good Image for Painting
Bjorn Calleja
Gallery 4

All shows will be up until the 8th of October.

What to do with a good head on some shoulders? The face you are now seeing is that of Lauren Hutton (shot by Irivng Penn in 1960) and is the “base” for Roberto Chabet’s Head Series, on display at Galleria Duemila currently. Works on Paper is comprised of several pieces from the Head Series spanning from 1986 to 1992.

The writeup that accompanies the exhibit was written by Ma. Victoria Herrera, who was my professor for “Narratives in Western Art” back in Ateneo. I thought it was an interesting piece, since she chronicles the history and progression of Chabet’s work, noting influences by Kurt Schwitters (who was referenced in one of pieces in this series). She also goes into the workings of collage-making, in an effort to understand the appeal of the process and the medium, as well as to provide its historical background.

A different and condensed version is up here, but I’ll try to scan the printed writeup soon because I loved reading it a lot. Nothing like a well-researched piece, really!

Anyway, onto the show! Works on Paper features over thirty works. It’s really cool to me, because it reminded me of the iteration exercises we used to have for design. By setting a limit or a boundary (in this case, that photo of Lauren Hutton), the artist is tasked to rework it several times. It’s kind of like trying to solve a problem using more than one solution, or looking for more than one way to draw a line. Or something.

For one project we had that dealt with iteration—it was aptly called “8×8″—we were tasked to make eight designs (that fell under a theme; e.g. mine was “animals”) and find eight ways to apply them on apparel/merchandise. It was fun because you really had to think outside the box and, usually, when you’re at your wit’s end, that’s when you come up with the best solutions and results.

Here are some of my favorite pieces. My camera setting was absolutely wrong for their lighting set-up, so I only have a few photos. You can view the exhibit over here, anyway. Or you know, go visit the gallery!

Galleria Duemila
210 Loring Street
1300 Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines
(view map)

Tel: (632) 831-9990 or (632)833-9815
Fax: (632) 833-9815
Email: gduemila@gmail.com
Website: www.galleriaduemila.com

Read the rest of the entry & see the rest of the photos!