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By Rhick Lars Vladimer Albay
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Monday, March 19, 2018
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A POIGNANT placard hoisted during a protest against oppression recently went viral – it said: “Kapag namulat ka sa katotohanan, kasalanan na ang pumikit” – loosely translating to: Once you’ve opened your eyes to the truth, it’s a mistake to close them again.
Ilonggo intuitive artist Marrz Capanang is emboldened by this dictum in his second solo show “Pasisiring”– which opened at gallery i at the E. Villanueva Bldg. in Iloilo City Proper this Friday – tackling the harsh truths of the world with his keen sociopolitical and philosophical beliefs to spin vibrant canvases grounded on the unbridled beauty of nature.
A Hiligaynon word meaning “to be entranced or mesmerized,” “Pasisiring” boasts both intricate paintings and conceptual installations – inviting its audience to gaze, marvel, and reflect with eyes wide open.
Each piece in the exhibit conjures the eye of a different living being – most local animals and species endemic to the Philippines. Capanang shares that inspiration for the exhibit was spurred by his beloved pet, the two-year-old dog Ulan, after he stared into the eyes of his furry gray canine.
“I was playing with Ulan when I caught a glimpse of his eyes,” retold Capanang. “I was awestruck – they were so vibrant, like they had a world of their own.”
“I then realized that this has been a recurring experience for me. Over the years, I’ve collected these moments of sharing eye contact with different animals and being enthralled by them. Natingala ko why it kept happening and now I’ve finally found a home for these experiences in ‘Pasisiring’,” he continued.
In the massive mixed media piece “Pasisiring,” Capanang pays tribute to his grandfather, a humble farmer, and lauds the quiet integrity of his unrecognized hard work by channeling the hardy carabao. Through its heavy-lidded eyes we see reflected a landscape of verdant green, but the harsh claw of a backhoe breaks the calm.
Gazing at Capanang’s meticulous eye for detail, you see he’s used actual golden rice husks and stems painted black to form the eye of the farmer’s resilient companion – evoking how the marginalized group has been largely pushed further into poverty despite serving a vital need of the people through their manual labor.
The mixed media installation “Kita” is Capanang’s rousing protest against animal cruelty, fueled by his disdain for the maltreatment of pigs and other livestock bred for meat.
A triple entendre on the Hiligaynon “Kita” – meaning “to see” as well as “profit” in Filipino, it also is a homonym of the local word for “us” – the piece has the pained and bloodied eye of a pig propped up on a platform of wooden crates. Capanang lends an immersive experience to the masterwork: Through a pair of headphones included in the installation, the viewer can hear the gargled cries of a pig being slaughtered.
In “Gahum nga Amat-amat kurta sa Panan-awan” (“Shadowed Vision”), we’re offered both a literal and figurative bird’s eye view of a straddling metropolis infringing on the outskirts of a forest. The piece depicts the point-of-view of a weary Philippine Eagle overlooking a jungle of concrete, with no place to land, rest its wings, and call a home.
“Trees are being unceremoniously cut down to make way for mega cities,” Capanang explains of the piece, relating that to add weight to the canvas he used sawdust to mold the eagle’s distinct eye, representative of the fallen woodlands toppled in the name of progress and modernization.
In the vivid and detailed “Bulawanon sa Panulokan”(“Everything is Golden”), the up-and-coming artist views the world from the eyes of the endangered Philippine tarsier, a subtle dig on how the country’s biodiversity is often threatened or abused in the name of monetary returns.
The highlight of “Pasisiring” are two of Capanang’s self-confessed “most ambitious” installations “Isa ka Gatos nga Kabulakan” and “Butwa” – the latter a jellyfish-shaped dome a visitor can duck into, and the former an interactive lattice of local flowers cast and preserved in clear resin.
He explains “Isa ka Gatos nga Kabulakan” is meant to embody the overlooked bee and its significant role in the ecosystem, while “Butwa” engrosses its audience in a conversation about plastic and pollution, the piece predominantly made up of garbage Capanang himself picked up along the beach of Calaparan, Arevalo, Iloilo City – the artist’s hometown.
“I named [the installation] ‘Butwa,’ because we need to rise and finally see fully for ourselves the problems were now all facing in our environment and in our society,” said the painter, also founded of the social enterprise Alima Community. “I want my audience to contemplate and think – through “Pasisiring” I hope to further foster their empathy for the environment and their fellow beings.”
Capanang shares that he feels most honest when he creates art, and with his unique voice and keen insights he’s assembled an exhibit that truly embodies his goal of presenting the artist as a potential “change maker.”
“In life, we should give time paying notice to the details, you realize how beautiful the world is, you begin to treasure and admire the diversity of the world,” mused Capanang. “In “Pasisiring,” I discovered my own smallness compared to the magnitude of the earth, but I know I still occupy an important place in the in the ecosystem – which is why I need to respect all the other beings that occupy this world with me. I hope other people realize it as well. There’s a need help each other especially in these trying times.”
“Pasisiring-singan ta gid dapat ang mga bagay nga tuod nga ga-matter,” he concluded./PN
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Monday, March 19, 2018
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