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Filipino artists strike gold in ‘Street Mining’ for Singapore Art Week 2018
The streets and alleys of the Philippines seem gilded with gold under the lens of emerging and established Filipino artists in "Street Mining", a group exhibit on view as part of both the recently concluded Singapore Art Week 2018 and DISINI Visual Arts Festival.
Works by Poklong Anading, Louie Cordero, Victor Balanon, Nona Garcia, Kawayan De Guia, MM Yu, and design collective Broke (Jeremy Guiab and Gary Ross Pastrana) are on view at the Sundaram Tagore Gallery at Gillman Barracks.
DISINI comes from the Malay adverb meaning "over here" and runs until September 30. The festival features outdoor sculptures, art exhibits, and performances.
All eight artists featured in "Street Mining" have received critical acclaim locally and abroad. Some, like Garcia and Bolanon, have previously exhibited in Singapore.
The exhibit, curated by Pastrana, offers a small but diverse glimpse of Manila. A video installation by Balanon ("Chimera, 2016") welcomes visitors, showing our roads and streets transforming into abstract shapes — chaotic and beautiful.
Balano additionally impressed with "Untitled" (Divisible Cities no 6), a photorealistic ink on canvas work from 2017.
MM Yu's, framed prints on wood, "In the belief that" (2010), drew people's attention and had most visitors studying the religious artifacts trapped inside before they turn to see Poklong Anading's "Bandilang Basahan (vol. IV)" (2017).
The tent is covered in rags and underneath is a video loop of the streets and train tracks — an approximation of the view homeless people see every day. The installation is a continuation of Anading's goal to further engage the viewer.
Design collective Broke's "Signal" (2012 - 2017) series proved to be very Instagram friendly, but the miniature billboard also speaks volumes about Metro Manila. Numerous steel structures with endless advertisement towering over the public as they drive (or attempt to drive) along EDSA is the stuff science fiction writer Philip K. Dick wrote about in "The Commuter."
It's as much as a cultural artifact as "Bawal Umihi Dito" signs — a rather unique public service announcement from frustrated business- and homeowners.
READ: Art beyond the canvas with Botero, Southeast Asian artists at SAW2018
"Street Mining" is a no-nonsense exhibit that presents Manila viewed with equal parts amour and that ineffable things that comes out as a deep sigh.The exhibit further showcases the artists' proficiency in capturing we the people in different media. — LA, GMA News
"Street Mining: Contemporary Art from the Philippines" runs until March 2 at the Sudaram Tagore Gallery at 5 Lock Road 01-05, Gillman Barracks, Singapore.
