BALAY TROPICAL
an extensive photo essay on rural architecture in Negros island (Philippines)
Kristoffer Ardeña
Balay tropical is an ongoing photo essay, which started in 2015, extensively narrates and investigates the vernacular tropical architecture and its nuances in Negros island in the central region of the Philippines. The goal is not to create an objective system by which to classify architecture but to open an aesthetic inquiry to raise public consciousness regarding materiality, ephemerality, contextually rooted in the everyday lives. How do Negrenses respond to the land, domesticity, tropical climate, social and economic conditions and how are these used as tools to create an architecture that is catered to the needs of the persons it serves, be it a family, a business or an individual. Contrary to the buildings created by architects that dictate the way we live, these buildings are created mostly by people using their own knowledge and intuition. Although the project specifically focuses on architecture in Negros island, it does not serve to merely represent it, but to act as a platform for discussion towards a broader understanding of the subject matter as a geo-poetic framework for cultural engagement.
KRISTOFFER ARDEÑA / Artist / 1976 / Philippines Ardeña works with various formats ranging from readymades, photography, installation, sculpture, video, painting, performance and other projects. He is the recipient of various awards and scholarships: a full undergraduate scholarship at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, California (USA), scholarship awarded by the Ministry of Culture from Luxembourg, the Academy in Rome award and the Cajamadrid Generaciones in Spain. He has done projects at: Museo Carrillo Gil in Mexico, Selesar Sunaryo Art Space, Ruang Mes56 and Cemeti Art House (Indonesia), Vargas Museum and the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila (Philippines), Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo Museum (Madrid), La Conservera Centro de Arte Contemporáneo (Murcia), Spain. He has also participated in various collective projects, among them the 3rd Bucharest Biennale (Romania), 3rd Guangzhou Triennale (China), Konstholl C in Stockholm (Sweden), Caixa Forum in Barcelona and La Casa Encendida in Madrid, MUSAC in León (Spain), Casino Forum d’Art Contemporain (Luxembourg), Apexart in New York (USA), Museo Ex Teresa Arte Actual (Mexico and the Museo de Arte Moderno in Medellin (Colombia).