Philippine Art Exhibition Explores Island Identity Through Contemporary Lens
The Ateneo Art Gallery's third floor transforms into an archipelago of artistic expression, where eight contemporary artists reimagine what it means to be Filipino in a globalized world. "A World of Islands: On Palms, Storms & Coconuts," curated by Ligaya Salazar, runs until May 24 and presents a powerful meditation on our shared island identity.
From London to Manila: A Curator's Homecoming
Born in the Philippines but raised abroad during the first Marcos era, curator Ligaya Salazar brings decades of international experience to this deeply personal project. Her German-Filipino heritage and career at prestigious institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum inform this exhibition's unique perspective on Filipino identity.
"I spent countless hours researching Indigenous materials in libraries," Salazar explains. "I became fascinated with how coconuts, palms, and pineapples moved between the Philippines and Mexico. This research shaped both the title and the exhibition's approach."
Water as Memory: Contemporary Filipino Voices
The exhibition opens with Derek Tumala's "Vanishing Points," a three-channel video installation that transforms digital waterscapes into meditative experiences. "The sea is a meditative place for me," Tumala reflects. "When I look at it, I imagine how beautiful, but also how dangerous it is."
Kim Sacay Chin, born to a mother from Ormoc, Leyte, and a father with Guangdong heritage from Kingston, Jamaica, presents "Memory Debris A Tourist in My Mother's Land." She describes her video installation as "an honest love letter to intergenerational resilience," exploring her relationship with her migrant mother.
"My mother's strength has given me the ability to choose to be an artist," Sacay Chin shares. "Art-making becomes a way to find common ground, showing where we overlap and where we differentiate."
Climate and Craft: Local Stories, Global Resonance
Ronyel Compra's installation directly addresses recent natural disasters in Cebu. Constructed from Molave wood using traditional banca-making techniques, "Playing in Reverse" incorporates trees that fell during recent typhoons and earthquakes in his hometown of Bogo.
"This work comes from trees that have fallen after the typhoon," Compra explains. "It reminds me of growing up in this specific childhood place." His sculpture demonstrates how centuries-old inter-island building techniques can be reworked into contemporary artistic language.
Nice Buenaventura brings actual water into the gallery space with "High Tide Atlas (Gaian Assembly XVIII)." Her installation features PETG trays filled with still water, creating what Salazar describes as "a kind of water archipelago" that evokes the constant threat of floods and environmental instability.
Diaspora and Digital Futures
The exhibition includes powerful works from Filipino diaspora artists. Stephanie Comilang, a Filipino-Canadian artist, presents "How to Make Painting from Memory," documenting Thai women in Berlin while connecting to the Filipino practice of bayanihan.
Alex Quicho speculates on maritime sovereignty through computer-generated imagery of artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea. "Alley to Heaven" imagines a future where genetically engineered corals have overtaken an island, questioning territorial desire and ecological fantasy.
Carol Anne McChrystal, born to a mother from Tondo and a father from Dublin, creates sculptural mats from found plastics and tarp materials, exploring connections between colonial histories and climate catastrophe.
Stories from the Sea
The exhibition concludes with Joar Songcuya's drawings, created from his decade-long experience as a seafarer. His six long scrolls combine real events like ship fires with subjective impressions of life at sea, reflecting the often harsh realities faced by overseas Filipino workers.
Songcuya's personal connection to migration runs deep. His mother worked as an overseas Filipino worker in Kuwait, returning home only once or twice yearly but regularly sending him colored pencils from abroad. These early gestures continue to inform his artistic practice today.
Reimagining the Tropical Narrative
"We want to relocate the agency in the tropical narrative, unpick clichés, and consider how interconnected our futures are as a world of islands," Salazar explains. The exhibition successfully challenges stereotypical representations of the tropics while celebrating the complexity of Filipino identity.
This meditation on our country as both lived and imagined space offers visitors a journey through mythic and tangible realities. The works create a free-flowing dialogue on archipelagic life, touching on labor politics, ecological concerns, and questions of privilege that resonate far beyond gallery walls.
"A World of Islands: On Palms, Storms & Coconuts" continues at the Ateneo Art Gallery through May 24, offering Manila audiences a chance to engage with contemporary Filipino art that speaks to both local and global experiences.