An art journey in Makati

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THE 10 Days of Art initiative, the lead-up to this year’s Art Fair Philippines, is well underway, making various forms of art accessible all around the Makati Central Business District (CBD).

One of the most eye-catching installations that will surely serve as a landmark for those traversing the fair at Ayala Triangle Gardens is Barrier Tape 2 by SpY Studio.

Located in the garden area, the piece features common red and white barrier tape draping from tree branches to the ground. It invites parkgoers to interact and take pictures with the large tree it adorns, as the tapes move with the wind.

Nearby, the Rewilding exhibition, curated by Jun Sabayton, is projected onto the Ayala Triangle Garden Amphitheater and Greenwall. It is made up of animation works by Bjorn Calleja, Ivan Despi, Pauline Despi, Jo Gregorio, Jeff Hazel Ombrete, Peter Daniel Palanas, and Cherylee Sng.

“Our works are about nature reclaiming abandoned urban spaces and allowing it to grow in that form,” said Pauline Despi, whose work Gardenias in a Glass Vase began as a sketch in her notebook. Now it is a projection on water, played against the Amphitheater’s little fountain against the wall, giving the flowers an almost hologram-like, ephemeral quality.

Her work, along with the other projections, inspires a sense of awe and wonder, especially at night amidst the towering glass, steel, and concrete structures surrounding the area.

INSTALLATIONS AT MALLS
Over at Glorietta, the Activity Center houses an installation of its own, giving mallgoers a chance to explore art without cost.

The Words You Speak Become the Home You Live By, by visual artist Kim Borja, is a mini house right in the center of the shops and restaurants. The cute structure seems quaint and simple, but those who heed their curiosity and enter (mainly children, unsurprisingly) will find a colorful home full of meaning.

It serves as “an invocation, invitation, and a quiet warning,” the installation built on images and language that have “the power to shelter or destroy,” the artist said in a statement. The work brings to light the silent struggles of mental health.

Meanwhile, Ayala Malls Circuit, while situated away from the Makati CBD, is bustling with a community of its own. One of its installations which passersby can admire is made of recycled plastic — Olivia D’Aboville’s Wonderland of Lights.

Consisting of giant dandelions that surround the outdoor walkway, the work depicts organic textures with synthetic materials. “The dandelion heads are made of recycled water bottles. We used more than 11,000 for this project,” Ms. D’Aboville told ����ý in a message.

Despite being made of plastic waste, the finished product is a calming, luminous spectacle, a statement on the potential of urban art in relation to the environment. It was installed at Circuit Makati in collaboration with Art House.

PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE CITY
Fotomoto PH holds a regular spot both at the 10 Days of Art and at Art Fair Philippines itself. This year, its exhibit is again set up at the Legazpi Underpass, making the daily commute more interesting for employees of the Makati CBD as part of its goal to make contemporary photography visible all over the Philippines.

One of its projects, the I/Land Open Call, is currently on display at the Ayala Museum, with the photos also being shown at the digital exhibit in the underpass. Its 72 entries were selected out of a thousand that were submitted by photographers from the various regions.

Pia Mercado, co-director of the Qube Gallery in Cebu, is one of the exhibiting photographers. Having only taken up photography seriously a year ago, she told ����ý how enjoyable fine art photography has been as a newcomer.

“It was like therapy because it’s become a routine already. Every month we (IMAGES Camera Club) have shows; every quarter we join art fairs. Being part of shows as a photographer, I realized, also takes a lot of time, but I think I want to keep doing it,” Ms. Mercado said.

Her photos are visual meditations, set in a water-filled aquarium with a cloth backdrop, where she puts in flowers and paint to capture their palettes and movements.

“The process is what makes it special for me, because I know what I want it to look like, but when you add the paint into the water, you can never control it,” she explained.

“The whole setup takes maybe an hour. When I add the paint, I only have a few seconds to get like one or two good shots before the whole aquarium is covered with the color, and I have to do it all over again.”

Ms. Mercado’s 2024 photography series, Impetus, centers on a specific subject — the Protea flower from South Africa — which finds its continuation at Fotomoto’s upcoming exhibit at Art Fair Philippines.

Titled KUHA, curated by Cocoy Lumbao, the exhibit features works by Tom Epperson, Neal Oshima, Jason Quibilan, Veejay Villafranca, Aeson Baldevia, Artu Nepomuceno, Benjo Campomanes, Bimpoman, Geloy Concepcion, Johann Guasch, Colin Dancel, Denise Weldon, and Ms. Mercado herself, as the rising newbie of the group.

For her, fine art photography allows her (and later, the viewers) to “concentrate on the beauty and drama” that ensues from the painstaking yet mesmerizing aquarium setup.

ART FAIR PROJECTS
Two women who have upcoming shows as part of the Art Fair PH Projects section also showcase unconventional forms of art.

Glass sculptor Goldie Poblador’s exhibit titled The Rise of Medusa makes use of glass, scent, and sound to depict how marine life adapts to the changing seascape brought about by manmade damage.

“The sculptures will have ‘pockets’ in them where the scent will be installed,” she told ����ý at the Art Fair launch in January. “I’ve actually worked with glass and scent for 15 years. But for this, I’m adding in elements of sound and performance.”

Those helping her orchestrate the multi-sensory experience are curator Erwin Romulo, sound composer Ben Richter, and perfumer M. Dougherty. “The sounds will be based on the molecular weight of the scents, like a scent-to-sound translation,” Ms. Poblador explained.

As for why she works with scent in the first place, she added: “It is the sense that’s most linked to our memories. It triggers memories.”

Another woman who hopes to allow people to reflect on the world through sound is Jezzel Wee, whose Art Fair PH Projects exhibit Pagbulong (Whisper) is composed of ceramic art.

Inspired by Japanese daruma dolls, which are used as a wishing charm, Ms. Wee’s ceramic dolls are meant to be held with both hands and shaken while one whispers their wishes to it. As it is being shaken, a gentle chime bounces within the ceramic body of the figure.

“I wanted to share that experience of wishing for yourself. There’s a difference when you’re holding something tangible that makes a sound. You get to focus on your thoughts, which is a luxury for us because of how busy and noisy the world can be,” she said.

Her works are made entirely of clay, which has textures and sounds that vary depending on the thickness of the form, the firing intensity, the temperature.

Ms. Wee said: “My goal is for visitors to have a minute or two with the doll, to get to have a moment to commune with something and think.”

The installations for the 10 Days of Art are now open to the public until Feb. 23, while the exhibits at Art Fair Philippines will be on display at the Ayala Triangle Gardens (regular day pass at P750) from Feb. 21 to 23. — Brontë H. Lacsamana