NAMAMAHAY Public Day Program - 3 August
From July 24 to August 4, BAP hosted Namamahay//Home(ing), a flash curatorial residency with BAP's inaugural curator in resident, Dayang Yraola. According to Ate Dayang, artists are not limited by the unfamiliar or lack of resources but rather are compelled to create despite of it. Within these 12 days, eight media artists conceptualized, collaborated and executed a project in collaboration with the craftsmen and staff at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in addition to holding workshops with students from Bagac National High School and GMRC. The resulting projects were presented to the public on August 3rd and 4th.
Mulino by Cheuk Wing Nam (as known as Chang May Wing Joy)
Hong Kong based artist Cheuk Wing Nam combined multimedia and sound practice to create kinetic sculptures. The windmills were made from wood and other different materials acquired from the workshop in collaboration with the Las Casas furniture making worskhop and senior carpenter Manong Francisco. When cranked, the turbines produce sounds which are caused by the hitting of the chains attached to the blades to either a ceramic tile, a piece of wood, steel, bamboo, or terracotta tiles. The artist mentions that in Hong Kong, a similar device as a mulino is used for praying for good fortune. Created during the passing of tropical storm, Wing aims for this installation to bring good fortune to the Philippines too.
You may... by Suzy Sulaiman and Teja Sofea
Suzy and Teja are a mother and daughter collaborative duo from Kuala Lumpur Malayasia. Working with the mosaic artisans, they made nine (9) mosaic plates with images imagined by the characteristics of Casa Lubao. According to Suzy, she was captivated by the house’s architecture which reminded her of her grandmother's old house. In addition, she found out that Casa Lubao originated from Pampanga which is a province in the Philippines known for its food and wanted to incorporate that idea into their artwork. The result is a series of mosaic plates. Suzy was drawn to working with this particular workshop because it mostly composed of women and children. For her, it is a great symbolism of her collaboration with her daughter, Teja.
To celebrate the spirit of collaboration, they planned a dinner party with the artisans and served Nasi Lemak, which is a Malaysian rice dish cooked in coconut and pandan leaf made using local ingredients from the market.
Casa Binan: Reimagined by Fairuz Sulaiman
Fairuz Sulaiman’s VJ-oriented work includes moving visuals (often video) on large displays or screens to complement performance art, theatre productions and live music events. Exploring everyday objects is central to his creations. Fairuz worked with performers from the Las Casas dance troupe to do a live shadow play retelling the stories of Casa Binan. Inspired by the furniture and objects inside the house, they collectively authored three stories tackling on the themes of love, perseverance, and duty. Each story gave a comedic yet touching scenario: The first play “The Purpose” reminds the audience that sacrificing oneself and getting hurt is a part of a process to fully know your own purpose in this world. “Sofa and Chair: In the Upside Down Room” is a presentation that presents the acceptance of yourself for you to be truly happy and content. Finally, “A Love That Holds a Temple: A Temple Story” is a story that revolves around the idea of selfless love: choosing to love that will not hurt other people is a touching yet sad closing to the trilogy. These shadow plays made the audience laugh, fall in love, sad, and reflect. It was a successful approach to convey the artist’s own ideas while reimagining the stories of Casa Binan and using the talents of Las Casas dance troupe.
Angle of Incidence by Derek Tumala
Derek Tumala creates sculpture, light, video, new media, found objects, industrial materials and performance, intersecting media and technology into a singular field stimulating sensory perception. Derek’s live audio-visual performance, "Angle of Incidence" juxtaposes a collection of audio and visual clips which he shot in a span of ten days around Bagac and neighboring towns. He states that the work is a meditational imagery as it was not directed but instead shot spontaneously. The title derives from how the light throws onto a surface. In his presentations on August 3 and 4, he screened a 20-minute video while he layered stories (gathered video and sound clips) touching on the subjects of science fiction and travel. The work, which was shown 3 times to different audiences, experiments on other possible ways of viewing a heritage site and its environment.
