Art Circle Gallery mounts first PHL exhibition of steampunk art

Picture 19th century Victorian England or the American Wild West. Now throw in steam-powered technology and let your imagination run free with the implications of a life run by steam.

This is exactly what steampunk is—and with the Philippines's first exhibition of steampunk art from Oct. 8 to 12 at Shangrila's East Wing Atrium, we can finally say that the anachronistic movement sweeping the world has officially reached our shores.

“Steampunk is recognized around the world,” said Art Circle Gallery's Christina Chanco, the exhibit's curator. “Pero sa atin, hindi pa. Only now is it being accepted as a genre in the art industry.”

“We also invited different people involved with different branches of the art industry—architecture, fashion magazines, theater representatives, so that they will see how this can enrich their own work,” she added.

Chanco said that the gallery decided to host the exhibition in order to give young artists a chance to show their work. “Not all of the artists exhibited here are ours, but they bring their work to us,” she said with a smile.

The exhibit's 13 artists were brought together both online and in person for five or six workshopping sessions by artists Buds Convocar and Ram Mallari, who both have works up for display as well.

Mallari is the artist behind the grandfather clock (“Zenith of Zeppelins”) while Convocar did a series of mixed media portraits of mechanical horses, insects, fish, and the like.

First time jumping in

From skulls crammed with gears to fashion accessories studded with nuts and bolts to even an antique grandfather clock, the 13 artists—most of whom had never worked with the steampunk aesthetic—incorporated steampunk elements into media as wide-ranging as classical nude sculptures to airbrushing on metal surfaces.

Merlito Gepte's usual material is cold-cast marble or bronze, his subject nudes. The materials he incorporated into the skulls include parts of cars, motorcycles, showers, and printers.

“Nag-isip lang ako ng idaragdag. Namili ako ng kalakal sa junkshop,” said Gepte, creator of several cold-cast resin skulls sprouting gears fom the brains and eye sockets. “Madali na once na na-gets ko na—mas madali sa dati kong ginagawang klasikal.”

Meanwhile, artist Jik Villanueva could not let go of his usual subject with regard to the steampunk project: nature.

However, his metallic, bug-eyed dragonfly sculptures certainly drew a lot of attention, even if he'd never heard of the movement before he got his invite.

He said that the Western-ness of the concept was no hindrance, as “It's just the way they look, just the material.”

Kiss Toledo, the lone airbrush artist among the group, was exhibiting for the first time. He usually works with t-shirts in several airbrushing shops.

“Kahit anong genre, alam namin,” he said. “We have been doing steampunk na hindi ko alam—kaya nung pinakita sa akin kung ano yung steampunk, sabi ko, 'uy, alam ko 'yan!'”


Challenges

“Medyo nahirapan ako. First time ko mag-steampunk eh,” said Gepte. “Nangapa ako nung umpisa. Pero natulungan ako ng mga kasama ko at tumingin-tingin din ako sa mga references.”

“Nagustuhan ko ang steampunk,” said Gepte. “Lalo na nung ginagawa ko siya. Siguro gagawin ko ulit ito in the future—hindi steampunk, per se. Puwede kong haluan yung nudes ko ng found objects para mas may dating.”

“Malaking challenge ito para sa akin. Hindi ako sanay sa material, pero nakita ko siya as an opportunity,” Villanueva said.

“What's hard is picking up ideas. Wala akong study, 'di ko alam yung gagawin ko, dire-diretso lang ako. Pero once I had it...tignan mo lang yung previous works ko, kahit ano, puwede gawing steampunk,” he added.

Toledo's challenge was entirely different—and two-fold. “Sabi ni Buds [Convocar] sa akin, 'Why don't you try doing it on canvas?' since I usually do t-shirts, helmets, cars—even the little Hot Wheels cars and the backs of cellphones,” he explained.

He added that his roots are in heavy metal, his inspiration Frank Frazetta—best known for the gritty art gracing many comic book covers. Toledo said, “I do heavy metal—almost too heavy. Yung challenge ko ay isingit yung steampunk sa style ng drawing ko. No blood or brains coming out, needs to be more subtle. Sa susunod, magli-light na ako.”

Repeat performance?

The exhibit was just a small section of the East Wing Atrium cordoned off—and yet, so many people arrived as the hours wore on. Some of them even came in costume.

With success like that, will there be another steampunk exhibition to follow the first?

“Hopefully, if given the same opportunity, we can do this on a yearly basis,” said Chanco. “Our objectives are to invite other artists to join the group, to get others to recognize this as a genre, and to travel—to join conventions all over the world.”

Chanco added that they have been acknowledged by several international steampunk groups, such as Steampunk India and Euro Steam Con, among others. Some of them have even helped the works of the Filipino artists exhibit get bought online. — JDS, GMA News