CA
C A N VA
VA S
“It’s also essential
to listen to the
people you trust,
people who are
familiar with your
process. Be open
to their criticisms
about your work
and your ideas.”
10°81°75°, 2019, stainless steel, dimension variable,
A Paradise Lost, Silverlens Galleries, Philippines, 2019
On the other hand, my personal history informs my process.
My mother is a scientist, so my interest in nature, specimens
and the scientific method comes from that. You could say the
intricacy of my handiwork is my way of aping my mother’s
preciseness in the laboratory. Meanwhile, my father is an
overseas contract worker. He left home when I was young and
growing up, looking at maps was my way of connecting with
him, of tracing the paths he might have traveled, trying to see
the places he may be living in.
Have you imagined yourself venturing out into other
mediums beyond paper?
Yes. For ‘A Paradise Lost’, my solo show in Silverlens
Galleries last January (2019), I worked with metal and sand.
For ‘Behold A City’, for Art Fair Philippines,
I worked with cut metal mirrors and light.
Now I’m starting to experiment with different material.
I think there’s still a lot to do with paper—I’d like to really
exhaust the material, if that’s even possible, because I really enjoy
working with it—but it’s fun to play and experiment every so
often. I don’t see myself married to just one medium.
You work with paper, a versatile medium but with a
perceived weakness in constitution and longevity. Do
you feel a sort of attachment or bond with your works
in that you fear its destruction? Or are you an artist that
quickly moves on from a statement made, and on to the
next one?
I guess, the process of making evolves along with the
ideas. I think I focus more on consistency, the process of
making and the ideas rather than the final result of the
work. I try to stay true to intention rather than getting
fixated on the result I want to achieve. Of course they have
to work in equilibrium - the tangible work and the idea.
Materials and technique become tools to execute the idea.
For example, the original ‘Behold A City’ in Silverlens a
few years ago actually got burned in a fire. But the intention
of the work is intact.
For the second question, maybe not so much quickly
moving on from the statement made in the work but more
of not being afraid to jump into another idea to create new
work. Consistency is key. It’s always going to be a continuing
work as the process evolves.
I am fascinated by your recent piece for Art Fair
Philippines 2019 ( ‘Behold A City’) that delves on
architectural heritage and urban existence. What
has this project revealed to you about how we (as a
race and generation) perceive, live in and build spaces?
It’s a sad truth, but I guess we have that mentality as a
nation of not thinking of long-term solutions, or maybe
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