In late 1990/early 2000, alternative art spaces and collaborations in the Philippines were a means of survival for artists interested in the radical and the interdisciplinary. They would put up independent galleries/gathering places in which an alternative community could “tambay” to share resources and exhibit projects. It was in these unstructured and casual hangouts that ideas were exchanged and plans were made. 

This was the environment that Philippine-based artist collective furball (est. 1999) formed in Cubao, Quezon City. The group included filmmakers, visual artists, designers, musicians, that despite their disparate backgrounds found a shared recalcitrant ethos. Together they instigated art actions in different platforms, including music videos, art exhibitions, and even a Viva Hotbabes film. In 2024, the group and their works were part of the archival exhibition, JUMPCUT 5: Videoke Philippinen, which surveyed 25 years of moving image from the Philippines at the daadgalerie in Berlin, Germany. 

For their second group exhibition at Modeka, “furball Ex Machina” furball presents new work, all in cathode-ray tube television sets, raging against the planned obsolescence of our technologies, the ravages of middle age, and the comforts of a comfortable life making paintings instead. The dying of the light, so to speak. Yep, these old farts are still at it. And what a relief they are. They don’t make these types of models anymore.