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Gaian Assembly XI
122.05 x 81.05 cm
48.09 X 31.93 in acrylic on dyed linen
2023
Gaian Assembly X
122.05 x 81.05 cm
48.09 X 31.93 in acrylic on dyed linen
2023
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Gaian Assembly XIII
39.35x25.37cm
15.50 X 10.00 in acrylic on dyed linen
2023 SIGHT
122.05 x 81.05 cm
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Gaian Assembly XII
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48.09 X 31.93 in acrylic on dyed linen
2023
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SOS (Vessel Series) Purple, Blue. Brown variable dimension
acryliconcanvason plywood
2023
17
SIGHT
The Lineof SightinaWorld of Mediated Recognition
ByJose Mari B. Cuartero
Inthemiddle ofthelockdown,JonCuyson,thepolymathartist/curator,was nudgedby hisisolationfromtheworldtocontemplateandfeelthe effect of ourtechnological dependency, whichtrickled into awave of inquiries on thenatureof how artists. "asa maker," negotiate. andperhaps,asserttheir relationshipwiththe viewer. Specifically,he beginsto wonder: "What occurswhenthat engagement is obscured? What strategies do image makers utilizetoretainagency?" And despite the absence ofcertitude, he braves thepresentbyasking: "How [doesone's] subjectivityand knowledge [are] formed without aclearline ofsight?" Alongwithothervisual artists-suchas Nice Buenaventura, KarlCastro. and Eric Ramos Guerrero -whoarepartofthis show entitled, Line of Sight,atthe Galleria Duemila, theycollectivelygrapplewiththeweightoftechnology,acondition in whichwe becomepressed bythe duressof itsinvasivepower. Suchthat. withthe seeming tyrannicalpresenceoftechnology,we seemtobethrown atthishistoricalconjunctureandcompelled tosummonthespecterof Jacques Ellul,ascholarofthetechnologicalsociety,whowould makeus ask: havewenowsurrendered totechnologyour techniques thatthese havenowbecome synonymoustotechnology? Orhaveourwaysof doing-asartists.curators. and craft-makers-been reversed? Dothe thinkers.curators. and artistsnowfunctionas machineswhilethe machines sadlystolethecapacities these samefigures enjoyedforthe longesttime?
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Whilethereisaseductiontosimplymopeandstageournihilistictendencies. Cuysonwelcomesusintothegalleryspacebyallowingustotouch, feel,andeventually,challengeourwaysofseeingsurfaces,industrial vessels,andatlarge,thelifeworldoftheseafarers.CuysonsimuIatesthe galleryspaceintoaquasi-shippingvesselbyframingthebaseofthewalls withagrayborderlinethatevokesthecolorpalateofships while foregrounding thesteelsurfacesoftheveryvessel. Someofthepaintings, ontheonehand,evokethecolorofsteel, corroding intoarusthue,yeton theotherhand,animatingthestrugglesoftheverymetaltosurvivetime, agonizing overits persistence tomaintainitsappearance.Whilethebluish paintingseithercapturehowsuchcolorsfadeastheygetwashedawayby water, air, and sun, but alsohow our eyeseventuallycollidewith thecolorof thevastexpanseofthesea Cuysondoesnotonlyknowhowtoanimatethe interactionofcolorandthematter'squivertothepacifyingandflattening tendenciesoftechnology. Moreso.thelayersofpaint,thetextureofthe surfaces.andthemodularityofallhis workslistentothedespairofthe matter, which wehavecondemned asnon-living,butinfact. asseenfrom hisgaze,alive. Hispoetic reverieintheseafaringnavalscapessublimates intowhatnowhasbeenpopularlydescribed asourbluehumanity.
Unlike Buenaventura,thesplatter,andspecksofinkfromphotocopied materialseventuallyturnedintoavisualcartographyofislandterritories onparchmentbrownandstonebluecanvases.turningherpaintingsalso intovisualimaginationofislands. Bylookingathertechnique,using materialsfromwhatmaybedeemedasmechanicalreproduction,andink marksfromthetechnicalerrorsofaphotocopyingmachine, wegettosee how Buenaventurascalesthese machineerrorsasalsohumanfallibility, whichcause.attimes.howwebecomecastawayfromtheworld,orturn ourworldintoanislandinitselffromothers. Fromsuchexpositioninto thishumancondition, Buenaventurapreciselyreordershowwealsorelyon technologytodecide upon what becomes our visible,whethertheimaginaryof territorialboundaries.orthemerecontingencybetweeninkand surfaces.yetbothironicallypropelthepresenceofthe islands onthe canvasofourglobalcartography,turningmapsasatrickyaffairbetween chanceandcertitude.Assuch,ourimaginedislandcommunitiesare makingsofareproductionthatsignifieshumaneffort,aprocessof redeemingoneself,atmosttimes.fromthesamefailureofthemachineto also reproducemechanically. Thus. theislandgeographyof Buenaventura becomesanart,notbytheprecision powerofglobalpositioningsystems. butbythedeftbrushstrokesthatlandasspecksandbleedingofink, surfacing asaimless.scatteredshotsandaccidental,evenaswemindlessly discard theephemerathatilluminatestheaestheticofphotocopied reproductions.
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LINE OF SIGHT
NICE BUENAVENTURAis avisual artist andlecturerfromManila.Her methods revolvearound offloadingtensions,betweenethics& aesthetics.through drawing, painting,installation, &citizen ethnography.This practiceextends to herprojectTropikalye,a mutualco-learningresourceonvernacularculture in tropical and postcolonial Philippines. Nice holds doublepostgraduate degrees inmedia&arts technology from Queen Mary,UniversityofLondon. & Ateneo deManilaUniversity. She has presentedwork and participatedinartadjacent projectsin Bacolod [PH],Bangkok.London.Manila, Melbourne.Ruang [MY]. Singapore.<1nd Zurich. In2021,shereceivedtheCCP-13Artists Award and the Ateneo Art Awards -Fernando Zobel Prize forVisual Art.
KARL CASTROstudiedatthePhilippine HighSchoolfortheArts.Hereceived hisBachelors DegreeinAudioVisualCommunication from the Film Institute at UPDiliman. Heisalecturerat the Department of FineArts,AteneodeManila University Hepresented hissoloexhibitions at UPVargas Museum &collaboratedwllhcuratorMarian Pastor Racesandvariouscommunitiesof indigenous andMuslimwomenforanexhibitiontitledWeavingWomen's Words ontheWoundsofWarat theAteneoArt GalleryinQC In 2022.He Is currentlyworking onseveral bodiesofworkinvolvingvarious media.including painting,weaving.andphotomedia.
JONCUYSON isaninterdisciplinaryartistwhosepractice mvestigatesthe complexintersectionsofhistory.visual culture.1dent1ty.andmovement.He receivedhisMFAfromColumbia UniversitymNewYorkin2010andhas participated mlocal andinternationalexhibitions.JonCuysonIsan artist. filmmaker,andeducatorwholivesandworksinMarniawherehe continues to work on htsdiverseartistic practice
ERIC RAMOSGUERREROisamult1disc1plinaryartist basedinNewYorkCity whoseworkinvestigatesideasofTheWestthroughlandscapesofsuburban California.theUS/Mexicanborder.andthetropicalspacesofWesternexpansion. RamosGuerreroexhibitsworkintematmnally.mcludingTheDrawingCenterNY. ElMuseoDeBarrioNY.The KnockdownCenterNY.BeauxArts FR.Museumof ContemporaryArtVojvodina.DitchProjects Oregon. Inside-OutMuseumBe1Jing. and Mathilde HatzenbergerGallery Belgium.Encrece,vedhis MFAfromColumbia UnIvers1tyinNY ,n2009.Hehasparticipated Inresidencies atThe Drawing CenterNY.MarbleHousePro3ectResidency.andTriangleArtsOrganization.
