10 CONTEMPORARY FILIPINO ARTISTS TO monetary value wouldn’t be lost, but more

KNOW significantly, their sentimental value augments as the

rings’ properties merge. Pastrana reconfigures reality to
1. RONALD VENTURA reveal an object’s truth.

In 2011, Ronald Ventura broke the record for highest- 4. MARK SALVATUS

grossing Southeast Asian painting at Sotheby’s Hong
Kong when his graphite, oil and acrylic work Themes of urbanism and everyday politics are central to
titled Grayground  sold for $1.1 million. Ventura’s the work of multidisciplinary artist Mark Salvatus, who
paintings and sculptures feature multiple layers of also serves as co-founder of local street art
images and styles, symbolic of the multifaceted national groups Pilipinas Street Plan and 98B Collaboratory.
identity of the Philippines – a country that, throughout Drawing inspiration from his urban landscape, popular
history, has been colonized by the United States, Spain, culture and the media, Salvatus depicts the
and Japan. Ventura’s work embodies the complexity of contemporary experience, both in his native Philippines
postcolonial culture through the juxtaposition of Eastern and in the places to which he travels. Salvatus
and Western motifs; high and low culture; tradition and links cross-cultural commonalities, as represented
progress; past and present. in Haiku (2013) – a video projection of graffiti that the
artist photographed during his travels
2. ALFREDO AND ISABEL AQUILIZAN throughout Japan, New York, Australia, and Indonesia.
The video links otherwise unrelated people and cultures
Husband and wife duo Alfredo and Isabel
to create a global dialogue. In 2014, the artist
Aquilizan emigrated to Australia in 2006 – an event
presented Latitudes  at the Cultural Center of the
which became integral to their artistic practices. Their
Philippines – a series of three works engaged with socio-
work speaks of community, personal experience,
political issues surrounding the resources of land, air
memory, and displacement, alongside the emotional and
and water.
psychological affects of migration. The Aquilizans often
use culturally-significant objects as metaphors of the 5. JOSÉ SANTOS III
‘lived experience’. In 2006, they exhibited Project
Belonging: In Transit at the Biennale of Sydney; made José Santos III has long challenged perceptions of ‘the
with traditional balikbayan boxes used by Filipinos to everyday’. In his early works, Santos painted hyper-
ship their belongings around the world, the installation realistic trompe l’oeil scenes and surreal, dreamlike
evoked the couple’s voyage to Australia. This work compositions. The multimedia artist has developed a
evolved into Project Another Country: Address (2008), cryptic style, leaving his work open to interpretation. He
made of the contents of 140 balikbayan boxes, each continues to explore a fascination with objects in an
carefully packed and curated with personal items. The effort to uncover their histories, simultaneously
Aquilizans have since produced several works involving obscuring the viewer’s perception of the
the local community, employing donated materials and familiar. In  ²hide (2014), and exhibition at Pearl Lam
creating complex installations from objects of Galleries, Santos exhibited a new body of work
significance. featuring everyday objects imbued with new meanings.
Unnoticed objects are often placed in the spotlight,
3. GARY-ROSS PASTRANA repositioned to create a new experience. Santos evokes a
renewed appreciation for the hidden, showing us the
Familiar objects are deconstructed beyond recognition in
extent to which we take objects for granted in daily life.
the conceptual works of Gary-Ross Pastrana to the point
where they inherit a new form, significance, and 6. COSTANTINO ZICARELLI
function. Pastrana is interested in the consequences of
transforming an object’s physicality, observing how Costantino Zicarelli is a self-proclaimed failed musician
its connotations are subsequently changed. Set Fire to and graffiti artist whose works reflect the history of
Free (2002) explores whether an object can retain its drone metal, black metal, and everything rock n’ roll.
‘thing-ness’ if it’s broken. Pastrana destroyed a ladder, His works and exhibitions are often inspired by song
burning a section of the remains and creating bird from lyrics, such as his 2013 show at Silverlens titled white as
its ashes. For Two Rings  (2008), the artist melted two of moonlight, as white as bone, as dark as the snake, as dark as
his mother’s rings and shaped them into a sword-like the throne. Exploring pop culture’s ‘dark side’, Zicarelli’s
object to investigate whether that physical graphite grey drawings reveal images of skulls, dark
transformation would alter the material’s forests, locks hanging in tangles, disco balls, smashed
sentimentality or worth. Pastrana concluded that the guitars, dead rock stars, and tattoo emblems. The
1
artist explains that his practice is less about being a 9. RODEL TAPAYA
groupie, and more about showcasing a less chaotic side
Tapping into themes of memory and history, Rodel
of the industry. His 2014 exhibition The Dust of Men  was
Tapaya weaves contemporary reality with folk
inspired by the work and aesthetic of Stanley Kubrick’s
narratives in a vibrant tableaux inspired by folktales and
iconic 2001: A Space Odyssey.  From images of sacrifice
pre-colonial history. Cane of Kabunian, Numbered But
to decay, this exhibition showcased the eternal fragility
Cannot Be Counted  (2010) won him the 2011 Signature
of humankind.
Art Prize. The painting – displayed at the 10th Gwangju
7. NORBERTO ROLDAN Biennale in 2014 and now housed in the Tiroche De Leon
collection – features imagery from Filipino folklore,
Founder of Black Artists in Asia – a Philippines-based
merging multiple narratives and diverse allegorical
group focused on socially and politically progressive
references, from the central canine figure to origin myths
artistic practice – and Green Papaya Art
and other creatures. Tapaya cautions against
Projects, Norberto Roldan addresses local social,
humankind’s greed and environmental destruction. In a
political, and cultural issues. His assemblage of text,
similar vein, Mountain Fantasies  (2012) comments on the
images, and found objects consider the lived experience
dangers of over-mining and the importance of
of daily life in the Philippines, alongside the complex
preserving of nature. The painting draws influence
country’s history and collective memory. Roldan places
from Filipino legends such as the beautiful forest
particular emphasis on historic objects and their capacity
goddess Maria Makiling who protects the
to retain significance once they’re discarded and
woodlands, and spirits who nurture seedlings where old
forgotten, questioning whether an object is inherently
trees have died. Tapaya’s work serves as a critique of
sentimental or exclusively endowed with meaning. His
humankind’s rush towards progress at the expense of
assemblage titled In Search For Lost Time 1 / 2 / 3 /
the world around us.
4 (2010) was inspired by Hitler’s apartment in Berlin,
which was supposedly incongruous with the 10. MARTHA ATIENZA
megalomaniacal dictator’s nature. The work
Born to a Dutch mother and a Filipino father, Martha
questions the ways in which objects reflect who we
Atienza has moved between the Philippines and the
are. The Beginning of History and Fatal Strategies  (2011)
Netherlands throughout her life and her mixed
was inspired by Jean Baudrillard’s essay titled The End of
background is reflected in her video work.
History and Meaning, in which the philosopher argues
Somewhere between imagination and understanding,
that globalization precipitated the dissolution of history
her work is a sociological study of her environment.
and the collapse of progress. Each work is a collection of
Athienza is interested in investigating the potential of
old objects displayed in cabinets, recalling a past that is
contemporary art as a tool for instituting social change.
fabricated by an attempt to create a sense of order from
With Rodel Tapaya, she was among the finalists for the
forgotten memories.
2013/2014 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, where she
8. LOUIE CORDERO presented her work endless hours at sea. The video
installation pays homage to the history of ocean
The richly-ornamented and often grotesquely-
voyages, inspired by her father’s past as a sea captain.
humorous multimedia works of Louie Cordero merge
With a moving video of the sea refracted through a glass
indigenous traditions, Spanish Catholicism, and
of water and accompanied by the sound of the ocean,
American pop culture to express a long history of
this work captures the illusion of moving waters and
tension. His vibrantly-colored compositions draw from
suggests a sense of hallucination brought on by the
the aesthetics of b-movie horror films, heavy metal
isolation of a life at sea.
music, comics, folklore, and street life, engaging with
issues stemming from the artist’s colonial past and
Catholic upbringing. At the 2011 Singapore Biennale,
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/top-
Cordero presented a disturbing multimedia installation
10-filipino-contemporary-artists-where-to-find-them/
titled My We, inspired by the then-recent murders of
innocent people singing Frank Sinatra’s My Way in bars
around the Philippines. The installation showcased a
multitude of fiberglass figures stabbed all over their
bodies with body parts broken. In the background, a
video installation projected Sinatra’s fatal song to create
an eerie recreation of the macabre events.