Herakut visits Manila, reflects upon Germany visitor Rizal

Street artist Hera grew up in a small town in Thuringia, part of the former East Germany. Street artist Akut, meanwhile, hails from Heidelberg—a town whose claim to fame in Philippine history was that it was, for a while, home to Jose Rizal. His friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, was a Hungarian-German who lived there. They began their separate careers in different parts of Germany before they teamed up.

The duo, more commonly known as 'Herakut,' are in Manila on a visit sponsored by Fully Booked bookstore.

Stand-out outsiders

"I didn’t know how to make graffiti," Hera admitted, saying that in a small town, he was somewhat disconnected from wider developments. And rather than draw lettering and the usual symbols, he began spray-painting figures on walls.

The duo shared that they were both outsiders in many ways, one reason being that they did not fit the usual graffiti-making crowd. But it was not until the world took notice of street art that their work led them to invitations to group shows and festivals elsewhere, where even then they stood out.

"We were at a show in Norway," Akut recounted. "And we were both using color and filling up a wall and the others were still using stencils and black-and-white paint."

Looking up Rizal

Herakut has been around the world many times, but this was their first time visiting the Philippines—and before they got here, they did their research.

"We don’t want to ignore the culture of countries we visit," said Hera. "So we research the traditional arts of a place. And when we were looking up as to whom the greatest writer was, it was Jose Rizal."

Rizal’s first novel, the Noli Me Tangere, was printed in Berlin.

They hinted that quotes from Rizal’s work will appear in a mural they are completing on August 9 at Fully Booked’s flagship store along Bonifacio High Street (which, due to a recent court ruling, is now in Makati).

Other engagements

Apart from this, they are scheduled to give two artists’ talks at the Ateneo de Manila and the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde on August 7 and 8.

The duo will also open an exhibit at Vinyl on Vinyl on the 8th, and will be holding live art making on the 9th and the 10th. The latter will be done with local street artists who were invited to join them.

Hera admitted that he was looking forward to speaking to younger artists. "We know the questions [they] have," he said. "And we hope that we can answer their questions."

Akut said of Manila: "When we went around it [last Sunday], it felt like going through three different countries."

They plan to return in order to continue their encounter with Rizal’s city, a place of different worlds.

Click here for more details on Herakut's Manila visit. — VC, GMA News