Group Exhibition

“I See Therefore I Am”

The exhibit title is a play on philosopher Rene Descartes’ dictum “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am.) By altering the statement as context for a photography exhibition, focus shifts to how photographers perceive the world. This premise was proposed to 12 photographers, allowing them the freedom to negate or affirm it through their work. With different creative visions and methods, they suggest to us new ways of looking at, thinking about, and understanding our existence.

Much of Tom Epperson’s body of work are abstractions of ordinary objects and shadows. His subjects range from abstracted images of ice, oil on water, smoke, sand, grasses and other natural or manmade elements we often fail to observe more closely. For this exhibit, Epperson’s work Shape and Shadows is a continued exploration of his approach. “By isolating and manipulating the shapes and forms created by light and shadow, I can create images that are both intriguing and mysterious. Abstract shadow photography can evoke a wide range of emotions and interpretations, as viewers are invited to explore the image and draw their own conclusions about its meaning. Abstract photography challenges our perceptions of space and reality.” A second work, Reflection, is inspired by reflections within buildings: “By capturing the way light and objects interact with reflective surfaces stays within what I have been producing lately. These reflections represent the beauty that can be found in unexpected places.”

In a similar vein, the works of Jason Quibilan are part of a series of abstract compositions that appear from a distance as drawn lines, but upon closer inspection reveal that they are actually photographs. “The choice of subject, lighting and framing are intended to disassociate the audience from the fact that these are photographs, which allows the viewers his or her own interpretations of the objects.” These abstractions portray the state of incongruence that exists between order, exactness and predictability, and the random disarray that occurs before equilibrium is attained. Contiguous to the abstractions of Epperson and Quibilan, Jonathan Baldonado depicts the invisible by portraying magnetism—an intangible force that is omnipresent in the modern age. “Magnetism is used in a plethora of devices, ranging from mobile phones, modes of transportation, power stations and numerous other applications.” His series Aóratos (translating to “unseen”), utilizes raw iron filings “to provide a surreal glimpse into unfamiliar dimensions.”

Tackling the unseen from a different angle, Antonni Cuesta furthers his dedication to promoting photography discourse through a critique of visualism, by exploring photography as an act of sight deprivation. The photographs are framed with their backsides facing the audience so that the images are concealed from viewers. “Photographs are exuberant objects, almost always begging for exhibition. What else is the purpose of a photograph’s existence but to be seen?” Cuesta selected images that he considers very personal, images he is afraid to show. He likens the act of making and exhibiting photographs to a form of confession, the images kept private or secret. “To conceal is to be,” he claims, acknowledging that the act of hiding is part of being human.

The strategy of Ryan & Garovs Vergara, the creative duo behind Everywhere We Shoot, also defies the standard or acceptable viewing of a photograph. Their work, consisting of two pieces of 1×1 photos, is installed high above eye level in the gallery, difficult to be seen without the help of lens or camera phone zoom-in functions. In an earlier show at Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery, the duo presented an assembly of six 1×1 photos similar to the type made at photo ID services available at shopping malls. They are typically known for imagery that features seemingly spontaneous, playful humor across genres of pop culture. Since the beginning of their creative partnership in the early 2000s, they developed techniques that challenged stereotypes and tradition, and now after nearly two decades, they continue to explore the boundaries of visual art.

Critical analysis of human behaviors in relation to society characterize the work of photojournalist Veejay Villafranca. His diptych illustrates the dualities of perception that shift based on social scenario and context. “The first image was taken during a tumultuous time in my practice when I was sent to cover the agricultural communities in Ifugao and the Cordilleras. I went there not only as an observer and visual reporter, but also to bring my father who was suffering from a very advanced stage of cancer. My purpose was to give him a means of relief from a rigorous and painful medical melee, temporarily pacifying his pain and rekindling his bonds with a familiar place. The image of the reservoir caught my attention because of its dry state when it was supposed to be the source of sustenance and relief for thousands of families in the summer capital, Baguio. This scene became more resonant as I saw my father ailing but trying to revive the good memories of his most favorite place. The scene of a dry state as seen from behind a barbed fence was an attempt to show an endangered abundance for those reliant on the produce of the land, parallel to an endangered abundance from a son hoping that his ailing father would have hope in that healing will come in different forms.”
The second image in the diptych revisits Villafranca’s documentary project about the lives of former gang members in Manila: “The image is an examination of the tattoos garnered by my subject Ramon when he was serving sentence at the city jail for petty crimes. When I first met Ramon as a young teenager, he had hardly any bodily markings. However, during inmates’ stay at a penitentiary, they acquire tattoos for protection, to be associated with groups who can keep them alive. A duality occurs once they transition to life outside prison. The tattoos are then linked to crime and notoriety, danger and distrust, thus becoming a lifelong burden. What was once a body marking needed to be safe from physical harm also eventually robs them of a fair existence outside prison walls.”

Turning the critique more inwardly to the science of the mind, Mhygsz Gomez’ series Disasterpiece: Personas explores the co-existence of multiple personas within a self by layering, contrasting and juxtaposing images. These layers represent the merging of the true self, aura, movements, anger, lust, arrogance and different emotions, including the fashion humans wear to affect their physical appearance and the impressions they give. He is interested in the concept of the human trinity and in the constant pursuit of mental health. To create these fuzzy, painterly effects distinct to his body of work, Gomez employs a number of techniques, including photo deconstructivism, multiple exposure, multiple stacking, multiple fast/slow shutter, scanography, and glitch art.

Using the Polaroid emulsion lift technique, Basil Paulin is able to seek and express “the humanity and emotion that lies beneath the surface.” His subjects range from the everyday to the extraordinary, always aiming “to uncover their imbued sense of magic and intimacy.” Paulin is primarily an analog photographer whose preferred format is Polaroid film and instant photography. “I am drawn to the immediacy of Polaroid photography, which allows me to capture the essence of a moment in a way that feels raw and authentic.” For the Polaroid emulsion lift technique, the picture’s top layer (emulsion layer) is separated by water submersion, and then transferred onto paper or another substrate. Hence, each piece is not mechanically reproducible and is unique.

Seeing the world differently but working collaboratively is the ongoing experimentations of Manila-based ESL Chen and Negros-based Frelan Gonzaga, who combine photography with painting and other media. For this exhibit, they focused on the clothesline as subject: “The clothesline is a very common sight that is strangely captivating. Whether they are seen on old houses, road barriers, farmland or condominiums, the way the garments flap about from gusts of wind is entrancing. All the garments are our own. Some are worn regularly, some are for special occasions and some are relics of the past. The dreamy monochrome background evokes memories of land travel across rural environments. In contrast, the vivid background brightens the otherwise dull character of modern urban environments. This juxtaposition of monochrome and color in part signifies our different preferences as two individual artists.” To demonstrate wind movement, they overlapped the garment images and painted over them with wide sweeping brushstrokes. This process of working in layers affords them the liberty of adjusting along the way and welcoming interesting accidents that become part of the finished work.

Gazing at the world from furthest out, Gio Panlilio uses satellite imagery and data for Landfall, “a series of images from an area of the Pacific Ocean right off the coast of the Philippines. Collected from NASA’s EOSDIS Worldview Program, the collaged images show the days leading up to some of the most devastating typhoons to hit the Philippines in recent memory. Avoiding the eye of the storm, they observe the moments before the storms pass, depicting the balletic movement of cloud formations as they coalesce into abstraction and eventual destruction.” His video work Boiling Point “observes one of the most essential and ancient actions of community building—purifying water with heat. The work pays attention to basic processes involved in building and rebuilding, tracking a constant cycle of changing states and transformation. In the space between the two pieces, creation and destruction begin to look like the same thing. Scale and time, beginning and end, intention and chaos, blur into one.”

Each photographer responded to the prompt through diverse themes ranging from sciences and the environment, philosophy, and psychology. The exhibit is a demonstration of the great potential and powerful role of photography in how we see and shape the world.

Curatorial Notes by Stephanie Frondoso

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