Words Amanda Juico Dela Cruz
Photos Jewel Chuaunsu
February 22, 2024

ALT Philippines 2024 at SMX 4, Mall of Asia, Pasay City. *Photo courtesy of Coleen Wong*

In the third year of this collaborative project among nine progressive galleries—Artinformal, Blanc, The Drawing Room, Finale Art File, Galleria Duemila, MO_Space, Underground, Vinyl on Vinyl, and West Gallery—whose aim is to reframe what an art show is, ALT Philippines 2024 boasts their programs that promote art appreciation by showcasing works of art by diverse artists, advancing discourses on Philippine contemporary art through their Conversations, and giving back to the community through their collaboration with Univers in a silent auction. ALT Philippines 2024 dedicates a space for special projects, a video room, and a live multimedia performance.

SPECIAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

“NOW” (2024) by Juan Alcazaren

“NOW,” Juan Alcazaren’s wall installation commands. Playing with text in his recent art practice, he breathes life into black and gray everyday objects. He adds additional layer to his act of repurposing these mundane things with the use of light, making the work look as if it’s forming a constellation. Contemplate. Does “now” mean the present? Or does it refer to the rebirth of everyday ware? Or did “now” exist in a spatio-temporality from the past, with its effect only being felt now, like how starlight is seen only when it has traveled great distance from the space to the Earth?

“Catch of the Day” (2019) by Geraldine Javier

Look into Geraldine Javier’s pool—deep, vast, endless. Diving into her oeuvre is diving into her advocacy to protect the environment from further destruction and to reverse the tipping point of environmental crisis, that is, if it is still reversible. The installation is filled with finely cut plastic pieces collected from water refilling stations, giving the deep color that, when one looks into it, they could lose their sense of time. Humans do not have as much time as they think they still do. The installation is a visual metaphor of how Herculean humans’ task is in saving their home.

“A City Set on A Hill Cannot Be Hidden” (2024) by Pete Jimenez

Cement sacks are lighted like those lanterns that float toward the sky, bringing with it the wish of a yearning heart. Pete Jimenez takes the title of his installation from a passage in the Gospel of Matthew that reminds Catholic followers to let their lights shine so others may see their good works and may glorify the Father in Heaven. Cement sacks are repurposed in junkyards to collect plastics, cardboards, and metals. These are materials that one scavenges in piles of trash to sell for a very low price, which barely allows them to survive another day of starvation.

“Water is Life” (2024) by Oca Villamiel

The massive installation of strips of silver foil created by Oca Villamiel is truly eye-catching. This bundle of found materials that he collected from urban and rural communities is a confrontation to the impact of human activities meant to yield more fish and shrimp. Imagine how overfishing and poisoning of rivers could affect the quality of water that flows out to the sea. He takes the sea into the exhibition space where one can walk around the installation, and feel the reflection and movement that mimic the fishes in the sea and the water as the sun hits the surface.

“Flourish” (2024) by Isabel Santos

Blues and greens. Oceans and islands. Isabel Santos promises to bring nature into the exhibition space through her gigantic mural. Of course, she does not only paint fishes and trees, and then the work is done. She adds layers after layers of Boysen paint to give not only color but also texture, adding another depth to her work of art. Repetition is a recurrent technique in her body of works. Repetition helps relax the mind, which is the very energy that she wishes to exude in her mural work. But one must watch out, for repetition also tricks the mind.

ALT VIDEO ROOM

“Sync, Memory,” curated by Cocoy Lumbao, Jr., with works by Victor Balanon, Manny Montelibano, Christina Lopez, Miguel Lorenzo Uy, Jim Lumbera, Joey Singh, Kiri Dalena, and Ben Brix

Highlighting video as a medium that advances artistic expression, the group show curated by Cocoy Lumbao, Jr. examines the possibilities and limitations in one’s aesthetic experience in immersing in video space and in video image. It is indeed a one-of-a-kind immersion as different methods such as video installation, moving image, digital motion, animation, recorded video processes, and performance are mindfully put together to create an experience. The show is titled after Vladimir Nabokov’s memoir “Speak, Memory.”

LIVE MULTIMEDIA PERFORMANCE

Somatosonic

Christina Dy is a visual artist and dancer. Tad Ermitaño is a media and sound artist. Marco Ortiga is a sculpture and specialist in kinetic media. What happens when these three artists with varied specializations come together for a live performance? One should not miss this once in a lifetime show on the evening of 22 February, Thursday. The trio, known as Somatosonic, will perform with their own-made instruments, augmented by electronic textures and a sonified dance performance. One can expect that the show is the hybridity and merging of different and seemingly unconnected art forms at its best.

What to See at ALT Philippines 2024