Evil creeps its way into the seemingly perfect world after the first trace of darkness presents itself. The survival of the first humans: Aadya, Timur, and Ammon, becomes threatened, as their lush and heavenly oasis turns into scorching deserts and frigid ice. The loss of control, for both God’s and humans, causes one to question their own morality and mortality.
Beautiful photography coincides with this poetic story. The gentle undertone of fashion photography provides stunning visuals, while not overstepping on the essence of the story. One can escape from the real world into this divine storybook, and get lost within the minds of both Gods and humans.
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Run by Kathy Grayson, PAPER VIEW is a “proliferating paper show” linking works that vary from abstract to figurative form. Each artist approaches the universal medium of paper in their own elaborate manner. Beyond just viewing the frames, get ready to journey into each creator’s frame of mind.
If you find yourself on SoHo between July 10 - August 18, make sure to stop by The Hole at 312 Bowery to check it out.
In the meantime, look through some of the works on display below.
What are these creatures and where do they come from?
These strange characters came into being as a survival or adaptive response to living in harsh or new, unfamiliar terrain. They manifest through the accumulation of material culture scavenged from navigating through spaces that provide very specific functions like market and industrial districts, 99 cent stores, and recycling centers.
What is their purpose in life?
They simply try to make spaces for themselves in often disadvantageous urban conditions manifested in DIY retro sci-fi space suits meant for exploration as well as protection. In a way, their physicality is a result of how they respond to and what they find in their changing environments.
Above: 'Lu M'bhat at the edge of the world' and 'Venus of Jackson Heights'
If your imagination were a planet, what kind would it be?
A planet that has the crucial ingredients to support life. This life may be different from what is presented as the ideal, but it is a unique and beautiful life nonetheless.
How would you describe your wardrobe? your lifestyle?
Very practical and straightforward. I wear clothes that I don’t have to worry about getting dirty or torn due to my habit of constantly making things, lugging materials around the city, or climbing scaffoldings to install something.
Above: 'Lu M'Bhat' and 'Tug Li Bong Arguing With Sky'
Where did the materials to make these come from? How did you find them?
Initially I resisted traditional European art mediums because they were expensive, but also because I was exposed at an early age to how regular Filipinos transform everyday and often discarded objects into decor for their homes, jeepneys, sari-sari stores, and for the Christmas season. There is this inherent impulse for us to transform spaces as an extension of our need to celebrate life and abundance even though the majority of Filipinos live in poverty. I’ve since applied this principle of responding to what is available and oftentimes familiar.
If these characters could speak, what would they say?
That everyone has the capacity to transform and reclaim existing spaces for themselves in the same way that space explorers attempt to colonize harsh environments.
Above: 'Ma. Buhyan Crossing the Horizon' and 'Where am we'
Which is more important: art or life?
Art is irrelevant to life because life will always find a way, but if we’re talking about human life we’ll see that throughout human history we’ve always produced art, which makes one conclude that it is an enduring impulse for humankind because it is what fills the spaces between the practical functions of eating and sleeping.
All images courtesy of Alpha'a, a new digital art collecting platform, and Pintô International, a non-profit committed to contemporary Philippine art. Lead image: 'Ma. Buhyan journeys to the afterlife'.
