It’s often easy to forget the grit behind Intramuros’ spectacle
Today, we have reduced Intramuros to more of a tourist attraction for both local and international visitors. It’s understandable considering how structurally it’s been aspired to be maintained.
However, its walls also contain their own stories. In the Spanish period, it was once the seat of power by our colonizers and was home to most Spanish families in the country. Come World War 2, it was victim to the pointless destruction brought about by the whole ordeal.
This was what Prim Paypon wanted to highlight when he first pitched plans for his exhibit. “I wanted personally to feature two of our most coveted, most beloved contemporary artists, and challenge them in terms of their contemporary art to present the forgotten history of Intramuros,” he explains.
As a result, they staged two exhibits at two separate venues in Intramuros mid-December. This was ROPED by anonymous artist Arce, and From a Castle, Came a Rubble by Chelsea Theodossis. Two shows, two separate art styles to take on Intramuros—the culmination of a six-month process.
Within those six months, the pair immersed themselves in the walled city in their own ways.
“Despite not being the people living in that glorious to dark history of Intramuros, that immersion can give them that walkthrough,” Paypon said in line with the process.
Arce did this process by “recording” every aspect of his visits, from sightings, to even smell. For Theodossis, it was a more literal immersion that was described as approaching the city with a certain openness.
“Like Chelsea, this was no longer just about [Arce’s] art practice. This is actually about how well our young and emerging Filipino contemporary artists can put history in present relevance,” he said about both.
An unlikely marriage
One look at the artists’ respective works tells you the major differences between them. “I chose Chelsea and Arce specifically from Ysobel and Art Underground Manila’s pool of artists respectively simply because they are at both sides of the spectrum in terms of visual narrative, in terms of visual layout,” Paypon explained.
Technicalities aside, Arce’s sculptural paintings were described by Paypon as gritty, full of visual strength, and textured mass. As for Theodossis, her pieces were said to be solid in their creation of harmony that “balances disorderly and transcendence.”
“And I liked that despite being very different and unique, both narratives actually formed a context that commemorates and celebrates Intramuros,” he said, adamant that they had been his chosen artists when initially creating his pitch.
“I think both exhibitions are really anchored on the history and relevance of Intramuros. I think that artistic truth literally connected both exhibitions.”
Staying on track
As beautiful as the pieces are, the exhibit was still about Intramuros’ story. It was about using contemporary art to tell history, and not just a show of talent. Amid the acclaim, this had to be reminded to the viewers. This was especially the case for Arce.
“I had to remind them, so as your history. Those imageries are actually composites of all the visual references he gathered when he visited Intramuros for several times,” Paypon said in terms of Arce.
From textures to color palettes, all were directly inspired by the walled city. In the curator’s words, they were not just “beautiful textures,” but rather a reminder of Intramuros itself.
Unique silhouettes, dead flowers, intricate carvings, and religious patterns—all were inspirations for the anonymous artist, and in turn, were expressed in his pieces to tell the walled city’s story.
Going over to Theodossis, her take was more contemporary, relating the rise and fall of Intramuros with a normal person’s own rise and fall. “As a curator and Filipino creative worker, I had to make sure that it had to be authentic—it has to be very authentic,” she explained.
Beyond the twin exhibits
If anything, the short exhibit was a testament to the true extent of artistic vision according to Paypon.
“We started with a concept and we remained truthful and committed to that. So whatever challenges or impediments that came in the way from June up to the staging of the show, we took it as a creative challenge that would make the output more groundbreaking and innovative,” he said.
Asked about its implications for local art, he wanted it to be a reminder to the community about the true immersive experience of art exhibits—a challenge to create more groundbreaking exhibits, especially with positive reviews coming in.
“We took it as a challenge to hopefully work with more galleries and artists in the future to stage more nostalgic, more visually altering exhibitions, and hopefully create exhibitions that would make Intramuros and other cultural landmarks as true art tourism sights in the Philippines.”
Featured Image from PRIM PAYPON (via Instagram)
Photos from ART UNDERGROUND MANILA (Arce), MARK SY (Chelsea Theodossis)
The post Art and History in Unison: Telling Intramuros’ Forgotten Story appeared first on MEGA.
Art and History in Unison: Telling Intramuros’ Forgotten Story
Source: Insta News Pinoy
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