Flower power: Victor Sollorano shows the beauty of lotuses

When I was told that GMA News Online editor Victor Sollorano was holding a photo exhibit at the Wabi-Sabi Noodle House, I wondered as to why the establishment suddenly shifted gears to join its fellow tenants at The Collective. The first Collective Art Fair happened the day the show opened, and it was a way of reminding everyone that as artsy quarters go, The Collective was not to be ignored. 

 

I later learned that the establishments were encouraged to exhibit work on their walls. This was because I saw a collection of paintings of Hindu and Buddhist figures next door at a newer Southeast Asian restaurant.

 

So one Friday afternoon, I found myself gazing at a far different sight from what I would be seeing if not focused on my customary bowl of pho. The pictures, black and white, were of lotuses, a flower which is of sacred significance in parts of Asia.   

 

Click here for a larger view -- Photos by Vic Sollorano, GMA News  

They were carefully arranged and shown with intricacy and a quiet energy. The stillness of the work provided a stark contrast to the quiet buzz of the kitchen and the conversations at the tables. 

 

Past visitors may recall that the wall facing the entrance was cluttered with photographs of people who preferred one kind of noodle soup over another, so to see work like Sollorano's on that large wall was a welcome relief. For once, this was the art I could find in a restaurant whose aesthetic of simplicity is reflected in its menu of noodles and dumplings. 

 

I later learned in an e-mail interview with Sollorano that he had been doing this for quite some time. 

 

It all started, he says, when he was in Bangkok in 2003 and met an elderly Thai woman who folded lotuses as an offering to the Divine. He recalls, “Each petal was folded in such a way that the totality created an intricate pattern, geometrically perfect and simply beautiful.” 

 

Wanting to learn the art of lotus petal folding from her, he discovered that it was a skill learned from childhood. Thus, he set out to replicate it, almost obsessively, and photograph the results. 

 

This was how he became interested in flower photography. He first exhibited his work, both in color and black and white, back at the Four Seasons Bangkok in 2004.

 

In hindsight, having first met Sollorano at documentary photographer Jake Versoza's now defunct Manila Collective space in Cubao back in 2010, I realized he had a strong interest in the art of photography. This is his first exhibition since 2008, when he took part in a fundraising show for the children of Basilan at the Philamlife Building. 

 

Last year, his work was featured in a UNICEF benefit auction. He has also exhibited in such venues as the Ayala Museum (where his work was a Director's Choice selection), the Enterprise Center Art Hall, and the One Workshop Gallery. 

 

His work is not limited to floral depictions. For example, his landscapes of the Czech countryside were exhibited at the opening show of One Workshop sometime after they were featured in a Bangkok show for the Czech National Day.

 

The word “hasu” is the Japanese term for the lotus flower, and as the flower's petals reach out to all corners, the idea behind the show titled “Hasu” is the act of sharing. 

 

Sollorano and Ibarra Padolina, Wabi-Sabi's owner, agreed that part of the proceeds from the sale of the photographs would go to the Inclusive Interaction Association. 

 

“[They help] children with disabilities, like cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism, cleft palate, polio [and others],” says Sollorano of the group, “and facilitate their enrollment in SPED schools for mainstreaming.” 

 

A wise word then to visitors of Wabi-Sabi over the next few weeks: do pay attention to the pictures. Perhaps it may help remind us that, in the words of Ricky Fitts from "American Beauty", "there [is] this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid.” 

 

In the sometimes messy, brash, bright, and noisy confines of The Collective in Malugay, such a reminder of that life is a welcome relief indeed. –KG, GMA News

 

Wabi-Sabi Noodle House and Gallery is located at The Collective, 7274 Malugay Street, Makati City. It opens for lunch and dinner and closes at around 10 p.m. The show will run until the end of the month.

 

Ren Aguila writes about music, visual arts, and other creative fields when he is not working for a small arts organization. He blogs at http://renpaul.wordpress.com. He prefers the pho at Wabi-Sabi.