AUDACIOUS: My Debut Art Exhibit

Although sometimes I believe luck exists 70% of the time, there's always this tiny glimmer of a feeling inside me believing that big chunk of luck actually sprouts from hardwork and consistency.

Not even a year ago, I can still vividly remember how I decide to create my own artist website spontaneously one night I got bored and needed a creative outlet inside my bedroom.

It was September 2022.

I didn't have any plan, no idea how to start, zilch tip on how to even create an artist's website that looks marketable enough and even appears convincing enough to be aligned and compared to meticulously donned by learned artists. I had this motivation that spontaneity can bring up something organic, unpretentious, realistic.

Of course it didn't go that direction. But eventually it did. After so many revisions, I took on a blank slate and started putting a grid type gallery of all my art collections, categorized and put up the best way I thought. Little did I know that was seen by many as "good enough", "clean" and "easy".

Flash forward to this night, on my way back to Basel from Neuchatel, I still couldn't believe in eight days I will be opening my first ever exhibit. Technically this is a duo exhibition together with a well-established Basel artist.

As an emerging one, self-doubt gets more validated everyday nearer to the exhibit day. No throwing up, no dizziness, but honest to goodness pure self doubting and imagining no one at all would visit the exhibit.

I guess that is the life of an artist. It's a normalized reality filled with self-doubt but as well as organic creativity, but nevertheless,WE DO IT.

I know at least 6 People will show up. My partner, my curator, my fellow-artist and perhaps each one friend of ours, but most importantly, Me. I guess the bravest thing I can do that day is to show up and be ready that only these people I mentioned will show up and appreciate my art. One person more and I will feel overwhelmed with joy.

Usually the main idea of the exhibit's vernissage is to give the private buyers a private look at the arts and the first dib to purchase the collections. But, for me, this is bigger than that. This exhibit will offer numerous avenues of connections and belonging and constructive criticism which will all make me grow professionally as an artist.

So, I can only wish for the best, but even only a handful of people would mean the world to me on that day.

Filipino Inspiration

For so long until recently, I always thought my art creations do not conform to any existing style there is, and believe me when I say "that is troubling," because it is.

Maybe in some angle one can cite a possibility that a new art can always be discovered, but it, having no inspiration whatsoever, is a bit unnerving (to say the least) putting one's art out there and convince spectators that they are one of the new art discoveries. I believe Art has existed as far as history stretched and overstretched, and having no influence of art history reflected or seen in the created art itself is undoubtedly hokum.

Research is always the key and most probably enough time to know what you are creating. It always starts with a niche.

I have started drawing faces since high school and I have never gotten tired of sketching them. Recently, I have realized that these faces are imaginary.

What am I sketching?

Have I been painting imaginary people I find perfect?

Or people I see in my dreams?

What about people I envision women or men to be?

Perhaps, how I see myself reflected in the stare of a stranger?

One of my realizations is this art collection speaks more of my desire for attention which I didn't want to admit for so long that I need. Perhaps everyone does. Admitting that something is wrong about you is the turning point on bettering yourself by giving yourself undoubted confidence and trust.

Nemesio Miranda or NEMIRANDA is a well-known Filipino Artist whom my art pieces resonate with the most. He is the Father of Imaginative Figurism in The Philippines. That is what I identify my arts too. A very clear artistic style that I have eventually decided to couple with Abstract style. Nemiranda's art creations are all Filipino-inspired. Mine, however, ventures to the real desire of people, one thing we all need but deny we do—— ATTENTION.

As an artist, I know there are always two sides, angles, interpretations of every story, art piece or even a song.

I have decided to infuse oil colours in my Imaginative Figurism faces made out of Gouache to uphold the same principle of black and white, good or bad, weak and strong. In this case, I merged a thick peelable oil paint over a dry and unforgiving gouache.

I don't know if this is proving something to everyone. But to me, it already has. Words have different meaning in another language. ATTENTION means taking time to notice, in English, while in French it means Danger. SALVAGE means a safe place in english but in Filipino it means ABDUCTION.

Need I say more?

The Backbone of Feminism

The essence of freedom is seen from a Black Slave’s lens.

The truest state of poverty must be best seen from an Indian one. The essence of gender equality should be most criticized from an LGBT one. The excellence of impartiality is exhibited best from a Swiss one. All of this needs a subject to see the object from.

But for Feminism, it does not need a Female to observe it best.

It needs everyone, and here is where we should stand.

I really don't want to be misunderstood and be projected as someone who doesn't want women supporting each other. The statement stands for itself.

There are also women out there considering themselves as feminists when all they have done is hating on men. Although obviously it hurts the point of feminism, they can be changed by inviting them and involving them in activities to raise more awareness about the advocacies of Feminism and how it doesn't really start on hate but yearn for equality.

I stand with equality. That is feminism. Although someone can argue, if Feminism is tantamount to Equality, why does the word seem to only support a certain gender.

If you're questioning this, I think it's about time to look in the mirror and start telling yourself that words were formulated out of nowhere, and that the meaning of word is what is important to be conveyed correctly,at all times. I myself, don't like the word. I prefer equality, but in these times, we all agree Equality is not yet achieved. So, I'm joining this feminist coalitions to achieve fairness and justice in all aspects regardless of genders so we can replace FEMINISM with EQUALITY ultimately.

Yes. FEMINISM is EQUALITY.