The Possessed 

Engkanto stories, still popular lore among lowland Filipinos, reveal a pattern in which a white stranger/spirit temporarily abducts a local man or woman or spiritually takes over his or her body, such that the victim begins to adapt strange and inappropriate behavior.  These abductions or takeovers are often times described as seductions during which the white seducer entices his victim to follow him or her through stories of visions of a faraway domain where everyone is white and dressed in luxury. After the Engkanto has his or her way with the victim, the latter is abandoned, sometimes to be found wandering aimlessly in the village or its immediate vicinity.

Some notable studies of the stories were published by Fr. Francisco Demetrio, who interpreted the process of abduction and return as spiritual rite of passage during which an individual is made aware of a particular role he or she must play in her society, and by Dr. Herminia Quimpo Menez, in the tradition of Ethno-psychiatry, analyzed how these stories provide symbols that characterize symptomatic manifestations of an attention-desiring mental illness. She identified it as the “Ingkanto” syndrome and described its 3 stages: first is the appearance of the white spirit and display of wealth, beauty and power, second is the adoption of the victim of violent or maladaptive behavior; and third is the recognition and use of the symbols by the healer to deliver the patient from mental illness.   

My interest in these stories came from an observation of a young Bicolana from Behia, Magallanes, Sorsogon, who was suppose to have been abducted by an Engkanto spirit in 1984. She attracted a lot of attention with her story and she animatedly narrated of how she was visited by an Engkanto in her home and was secretly transported a world of luxury and beautiful people. The observation stuck and was awakened upon reading of Demtrio and Menez writings. But the question that intrigued me was not whether these stories were true, rather the possible origin of the symbols used in the stories. Thus, I had been searching for many years until I came across the earliest documented encounters between the inhabitants of these islands with the West, in particular with Ferdinand Magellan and his men, which was published as part of The First Voyage Around the World by Antonio Pigafetta. For this exhibit, I wanted to show how by suspending the question of “true or not true?” I came to regard this recorded incident as the beginning of an experience that was repeated during the time of conquest in various parts of pre-colonial Philippines and formed a base for the evolution of the Engkanto stories. The method can be described as phenomenological or artistic, since both use free-association and the suspension of biases. This method is further enhance by independence of art materials or matter, which bring their strengths and limitations into play and in such manner reveal more interesting pictographic discussion than what can theoretically be conceived. My hope is for the work to encourage others to look at the Engkanto story and Filipino culture in a fresh light; in particular, to appreciate the story of the Engkanto as a derivative of the colonial experience and as a proto-concept or a narrative hiding a thought-organizing idea in our folklore that can be used to understand and put into perspective the contemporary Filipino experience of globalization and neo-colonialism, wherein the colonization process is repeated by the colonized through the reproduction of images and behavior, which, however eloquent or cool, are disrespectful the self and history, inhibit the natural and adaptive relations of community, alienate culture and destroy the environment. I would like for the work to suggest a second look at what is happening around us for I truly believe that for as long as we do not recognize and use the symbols that enslave us to bring us a cure, and bring our experience to that level of becoming just a rite of passage to the better; we will remain “the possessed”.

Cited works:The Engkanto Belief: An Essay in Interpretation. Francisco Demetrio (1969). Asian Studies 28

Mythology and the “Ingkanto” Syndrome. Herminia Menez (1996). Explorations in Philippines Folklore

Life is a Beautiful Struggle

Tamondong animates his personal journey to living life according to a struggle to realize a real purpose. More often, he sees the journey as a kaleidoscope of contrasts that create chaos in one’s mind and heart. Still, he trudges on and finds beauty in all of life’s contradictions.

His “Hungry Tummy” conveys his desire for that beautiful body that many aspire for. He has to get it at all costs but oftentimes fell into distractions. “No pain; no gain” is always the battle cry but the craving to satisfy himself gastronomically always get better of him. As such, it sometimes ends up broken like a promise, a frustration. In “Art Forever”, Tamondong simply declares what he is by heart.  No matter what, that creates an aspiration and the need to be truly that being. The dedication sometimes is overbearing that he has to live it like a contract for life.“Fight”, on the other hand, is the will to move on despite all the frustrations. He gets hit with punches but remains to be tough. The pain is always quietly absorbed with amazing grace. He survives each fight with courage.  That strength to survive comes only from a magnanimous source. Meanwhile, Dreams are all possibilities. That is what Tamondong conveys in “Rockstar”. With confidence, he realizes these dreams as he knows he is filled with bright ideas as reflected by “Box of Goodies.” 

Tamondong, however, sees the limit in every person’s capacity to fulfill one’s purpose. His work “I Just Want You to See My Mohawk” suggests the other side that one may perceive about him and what he would like others to perceive. And this is such because the heart sees what the eyes cannot see. Often, people do not see the deeper side of others.“As The Young Painter Dreameth” notes the essence of the purpose that he searches for. Of the many possibilities, one is truly fulfilled. Once it does, there is the need to keep the faith. He can with optimism and hope for whatever best come his way. Despite the worst, he continues to learn and pick up the pieces and go on with the dream. Broken or fulfilled, the survival all depends on the passage of time. There may be regrets but there is always the passion for living life the way he sees it fit.

Beautiful Struggle opens November 15, 2010 at the blanc gallery, 2E Crown Tower, H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City. For more information call/sms 0920-9276436, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.blanc.phThe exhibition will run until December 6, 2010.

Takipsilim

Mervin Pimentel’s “Takipsilim” will open on Monday October 18, 2010 6PM at blanc gallery 2E Crown Tower, H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City.
For more information call/sms 0920-9276436, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.blanc.ph

The exhibition will run until November 5, 2010.

"Ascent"

In his latest solo show “Ascent,” Jethro Jocson once again explores his more liberal interpretations of spirituality—that is, convictions that are at once decidedly humanist, yet seemingly founded on largely conservative Christian beliefs. In each of his surreal visual narratives, Jocson tackles the idea of man’s ascent as the progression into a life after death, coupled with the notion that the current plane of existence is but preparation for what lies beyond the grave.

As with his previous works, Jocson takes on a given set of icons, which draws on implications from popular culture as well as the artist’s own assigned meanings. The paper airplane, for example, connotes the Spirit, the boat the Journey, the window Portals, and the balloon the Soul. Interestingly, figures of a priest and a nun stand in for human beings, and, here emphasizing the fact that these servants of God are still very much human, inadvertently questions the normalcy of a life of abstinence for any human being.

While Jocson’s work often deals, if tangentially, with more esoteric themes, this series is the first to directly address spirituality and religion, as well as prominently employ images that are directly associated to these ideas. Here, paradoxical notions of goodness, spiritual progression, the spiritual life, and, of course, man’s ascension into something beyond himself are played against each other, as the artist attempts to rationalize the necessity of religion and a kind of spirituality, against the impossible gravity of today’s reality.

Ascent will open on September 6, 2010 6PM at blanc gallery 2E Crown Tower, H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City.
For more information call/sms 0920-9276436, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.blanc.ph

The exhibition will run until September 25, 2010.

Neighborhood

Allan Jay Balisi's second solo show entitled "Neighborhood" was inspired by Czeslaw Milosz's poem A Song on the End of the World. This poem would best describe how the works for this show was created. Neighborhood will open at blanc on September 3, 2007 6PM. Blanc is located at 2E Crown Tower 107 H.V. dela Costa St. Salcedo Village, Makati City. The exhibition will run until September 24, 2007. For more information please call/sms 752-0032/0920-9276436, email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.blanc.ph.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty. Not the kind that makes you toss in your bed and lose sleep, but the sort that challenges the very core of your being, the sort that transforms your life from being routine to unpredictable and inspiring. These four individuals dare to defy the sacred covenants of conventional art by utilizing mundane and unlikely objects in their works as well as refusing to do what the rest of the world tells them to do: plan ahead.

Lirio Salvador is a Fine Arts graduate in the Technological University of the Philippines. He founded a band called Elemento, a multi-dimensional art group which specializes in sound art. Sound art involves no scales, but focuses on sound textures and uses noise to its advantage. Salvador creates his own instruments using everyday materials such as bicycle gears, drain cleaning springs and stainless steel tubes. His works look like objects fresh from a science fiction movie, but with more symmetry and a beauty that is quite unexpected of gears, springs and tubes.

Eugene Jarque has certain siLIRIO SALVADOR, EUGENE JARQUE, MAC VALDEZCO AND JONATHAN CASTROmilarities with Salvador---he also graduated from TUP with a Fine Arts degree and he also uses metal (in the form of aluminum sheets) in his art. The similarities, however, end there. Jarque also incorporates receipts, magazine clippings, soil, enamel, gesso, sandpaper and ferric chloride in his creations. The dominant color in his works is gray; witnessing his paintings, one is delightfully surprised that there are so many shades of a color usually considered drab and uninteresting. No wonder Jarque was presented with the Cultural Center of the Philippines' prestigious Thirteen Artists Award, which is given only to progressive young artists with integrity, coherence of ideas, consistence and sensitivity to today's social realities every three years.

Another recipient of the Thirteen Artists Award is Mac Valdezco, an Advertising graduate also from TUP. Using strips of paper, cotton strings, cotton tape, shoelaces and cotton rags, she creates biomorphic figures that are sometimes whimsical and sometimes loud, but one thing is for sure: they are never the same from first glance. Her art metamorphoses before our very eyes and the beauty of it is that we can never catch how and just what it has become.
Another TUP Fine Arts graduate is Jonathan Castro. As a painter, he explores the interweaving of texture, color and tonal patterns through non-traditional painting techniques and materials. He usually presents a series of works that expresses the ambiance of free play and interaction of shapes and lines to convey a range of emotions.

There you have it---we have four artists telling us that uncertainty is not a bad thing. The beauty of their art proves this to be true.
Uncertainity will open on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 6pm. Blanc is located at 2E Crown Tower 107 H.V. dela Costa St. Salcedo Village, Makati City. For more information please visit www.blanc.ph or www.blancartspace.multiply.com call or sms 752-0032/0920-9276436

Breaking the Silence

My works are either familiar or unique underwater images of people and objects that float, weave through or swim around.  It deals on personal space, time, memory, thoughts and experiences.  The images suggest a sense of movement as the light reflecting on the water attempts to recapture the original and existing form.  This enables one to trace or transcend the movement of thought and explore, for instance, the dimension of solace and solitude.  The entire painting is an illusion of color: the play of light imbuing on the works implies the fluidity, changing views and dimensions of water. 

The moving/flowing water serves an element of defamiliarization, producing an intriguing ambiguity of the real and unreal, thus, setting new terms of encountering reality.  The stark images and figures create a complex and resonating pattern, like bathing in a luminous glow of water.  Rolled by water's moving reflection, the depiction of figures that float exists in the same dream-like level of memory and time, in which it has a double image signifying the issue of identity.  The shadows, meanwhile, suggest a condition of change. 

The imagery of submergence in water alludes to the realm of subconscious and the unconscious.  It is not only the rational conscious self that defines one's identity, but more so, the submerged level of the mind that doubly and crucially suggests in the articulation of the self.  This can be seen or felt, for instance, during pre-natal and birth experiences in the fluid of mother's womb.  The bodies move alone like apparitions in the chiaroscuro of water, as the viewers are impelled to discover their fluid identities, which is the sense of being and becoming.

"TutoKKK:  Krisis, Kalunasan... Anong K Mo?"

TutoK is about visual artists collaborating for advocacy.  In celebration of its third year this 2008, it is holding its annual exhibit at Blanc's spaces in Mandaluyong and Makati with almost 200 artists contributing new works on the theme of crisis: probing into its metaphors and transmutations as it collectively forms an active stance beyond resistance.
Primarily conceived as a recount of a crisis-laden period, "TutoKKK" is also an invitation towards a more in-depth scrutiny of pressing issues.  Crisis marks a point of instability in the same way that it highlights a turning point: we are in a crucial moment where decisions will and have to be made.

Paintings, sculptures, installations and residual performance comprise the initial salvo to be held at the Blanc Compound in Mandaluyong from November 25 to December 10.   A flow of wall-bound works in uniform format will dominate the space, interspersed with sculptures and assemblages of objects that overall, will interact with the action and residue of live art performances.   The high point will be an Artists' Reception on Sunday, November 30 with performances and other events starting at 4:00pm.  The party will go on till evening with music provided by various bands.

Coming next is an installation of works on paper by the same artists at Blanc Art Space Makati from December 6 to 31.  Using various media, but also following a uniform format, these vignettes on crises will also be the basis of an installation/performance that will echo the outcry and ephemera of paper.  The exhibit will open on Saturday, December 6 with performance starting at 7:00pm.
"TutoKKK" is presented in partnership with Blanc, and is jointly curated by Noel Soler Cuizon, Buen Calubayan, Jef Carnay, Mark Salvatus and Wesley Valenzuela.   TutoK is grateful to PAG-IBiG, Utterly Art, and Mr. Julius Babao for their support.

Evolution Overload

Crist Espiritu's solo exhibition, Evolution Overload encompasses the theory of evolution, particularly what comes after homo sapiens as we know us. Technology is a speed demon, imposing its wonders and disasters to modern living. Technology is never not an option. At the advent of meshing its manifestations on daily routine, humanity spawns homo-techno mutants. Scattered here and there in the microcosms of Evolution Overload are breeds of gadget-humans and other figures with altered genes of mismashed contemporary culture brought about by technocracy.

Evolution Overload opens on Monday November 10, 2008 6PM at blanc Crown Tower 107 H.V. dela Costa St. Salcedo Village, Makati City. For more information please call/sms 752-0032/0920-9276436, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.blanc.ph.

With a Little Help from My Friends

Boy Bustamante, will have his first solo exhibition entitled "With A Little Help From My Friends – a musical journey through digital paintings" at blanc on November 8 7PM and will run until November 22. 

Featured are twelve limited edition digital paintings of rock and jazz icons that have moved and molded Boy's passion for music. These works will now visually show the emotions that we hear through their recordings. Their words, their music, their tone, their breath are now translated into visual imagery. 

Each painting will be limited to three copies, printed by OWG on acid free Arches paper through the process of Giclee printing. All pieces will be custom framed by blanc on acid free mat boards and foam boards.