UNCONVENTIONAL and upcycled materials took center stage in an exhibit that featured eight artists, including a Thomasian painter, at the Gateway Gallery, Quezon City on Aug. 16.
Advertising arts alumnus Gilbert Angeles was among the artists that participated in the “Mangha-Likha: Defying Art Conventions” exhibit, where he turned single-use plastic laminates into paintings.
Angeles, known for his “eco-paintings,” used shredded sachets, textiles, and discarded wood in his work “A Glimpse of Tomorrow.”
The painting was made during the onslaught of Typhoon “Egay” in July, when he tried to capture the effects of devastating typhoons on the country.
He said artists must use their craft to call out big companies that pollute the environment.
“Be the voice that will say, ‘Your products can still do more.’ Be an avenue. Everyone should be an avenue for change,” said Angeles, who graduated from the old College of Architecture and Fine Arts in 1992.
Mangha-Likha was curated by Asst. Prof. Mary Venturina-Bulanadi of the Department of Interior Design of the College of Fine Arts and Design, and was made possible through a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
According to Bulanadi, the exhibit’s title and theme describes the awe of seeing magnificent art made of discarded materials.
“You’ll be surprised because out of scrap materials, they were able to come up with something worth seeing and worth appreciating,” Bulanadi told the Varsitarian.
Materials used in the artworks included soda can pull tabs, masking tape, fabric patchwork, leftover paint, mud, and old toys.
Other artists featured in the exhibit were Tet Aligaen, Mai de Dios, Sasha Garcia, Marvel Obemio, Percival Denolo, Jordan Mang-Osan, and Noel Quidlat.
“I felt their passion in artmaking and the sincere intention to express themselves through their artworks in the most unconventional of mediums,” Bulanadi said in her opening remarks.
“They saved these materials from being discarded and in the process, it has also ‘saved’ the artists themselves because that is how powerful art can be,” she added.
The exhibit will be open to the public until Sept. 18. Jan Alyanna G. Tamaray and Niña Angelica M. Rodriguez
