Art Review: 'Number 9 Dreams' exhibit is all about Lennon

While I wouldn't call myself a huge fan, Beatles songs were definitely part of my childhood. So the idea of going to a John Lennon tribute exhibit gave me a sort of Beatles fever. I was humming on my way to the exhibit reminding myself to "Give Peace a Chance," despite the tangle of traffic in Makati.

 

When the elevator doors opened on the twelfth floor, I thought for a moment that maybe I was lost. But the image of John Lennon's face, (one of many as I would soon find out), told me I had found Piglas Art Circle's visual art tribute "Number 9 Dreams" at the Food and Art Gallery. Whoever decided to name the place might not have been very creative, because that's exactly what it is.

 

The air smelled like sisig, chicharon, and milk tea. The lights were a bit too bright, and snippets of conversation could be heard over staple Christmas music by Jose Mari Chan. It was a bit challenging to view the exhibit, or even find the pieces, because the artworks were all over the place.

 

Some works, like Rei Ayaton's mixed media pieces "Yes Wireman," "John Lennon: Pieces of the Man," "Early Years" and "Rooftop" were displayed behind glass, opposite the drinks station. These were the easiest to look at, but some pieces were hung above tables which were occupied by diners. It was a bit awkward, because you'd have to tiptoe over strangers as they try to have their meal in peace.

 

Some of the paintings were interesting, like Dominador Larosa's "Imagine," with a saintlike Lennon, a record instead of a halo behind him. Romy Salazar's piece, also titled "Imagine," was also interesting, and was perhaps the piece that stood out the most, simple as it seemed. The exhibit features paintings and sculptures of over 30 artists, several of them with the same subject.

After a while, it seemed like everywhere I looked, Lennon was staring back at me. Or it could have been going in circles around the place, which was more of a food court than a gallery.

 

Next to a Christmas tree, Marlon Ponsoy's black and white painting "John Lennon Prophesy" hung beside Nestor Ong's "Martyred Before His Time." After a while, I began to feel hungry, but I knew it was just the food court smells distracting me from the exhibit. Also, the Jose Mari Chan music was still playing, and I felt the sudden urge to shop for gifts.

It was actually a bit trippy, looking at paintings while trying not to bother the diners.

After a while, the splashes of color on the walls juxtaposed with the red and green Christmas decor began to make sense. The exhibit was, after all, meant as a tribute "a man who taught us to imagine and to dream."

Like the Beatles song it was named after, the exhibit wasn't something you could put in a box. Lennon got his lyrics in a dream--the words had no meaning, but it worked. Not that this exhibit didn't have meaning, but it wasn't ordinary in the sense that it didn't need to placed within the usual sacred space and blank walls of art galleries.--KDM, GMA News

 

Number 9 Dreams will run from November 23 to December 22, 2012 at the Food and Art Gallery, 12th flr., GT Tower, 6813 Ayala Avenue corner H.V. dela Costa Street, Makati City, Philippines