In a time when democracy seemingly has failed, “the center will not hold” exhibit presents an avenue to go reflect and rethink alternative futures in lieu of today’s looming indications of a chaotic world.
Managed by Museum of Contemporary Art and Design’s (MCAD) project manager Ar. Jann Leyba from the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP), the professional organization of architects in the Philippines that aims to support the profession in the country, and curated by MCAD curator Joselina Cruz, “the center will not hold” exhibit opened last March 7. The exhibition includes the works by Filipino artist couple Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, contemporary Indian artist Shilpa Gupta, Korean architect Kim Heecheon, Filipino digital artist Manny Montelibano, and Indonesian artist Tintin Wulia—a diverse group of Asian artists who contributed a piece of their identity to the larger scheme of things.
Diverse artistic prowess
Entering the exhibit, guests are greeted with Montelibano’s Unrestricted Areas (2019), a video installation that flashes a surveillance feed positioned to another lobby of the MCAD building. To detect heat signatures in military activities is the common use of the thermal camera but Montelibano portrays technology having multiple eyes and observing from a control room but eventually losing its efficacy. Meanwhile, Sorry for the Inconvenience (2011), another video installation by Montelibano, showcases flickering black and white images that disrupt the apologetic speeches of political figures that gives disturbance and nausea.
Furthermore, Lifting Barbells (2015) is a video production of Heecheon and is his lament to his girlfriend as he tells her about his father’s death from a road accident with his last moments reorganized through every data and information available with GPS tracking data found on his father’s smartwatch. An innovative and the use of mixed media gives an off-putting feel with the use of black and white and unconventional images.
Gupta’s 100 Hand Drawn Maps of my Country (2008-2014) is an interactive cartography project which required the participation of visitors to draw the shape of their country from their memory which she later overlaid together to produce one image. Meanwhile, Untitled (2016) are carbon tracings of events at the Knesset, a legislative branch of the Israeli government, where members are being taken away and interrupted at giving their address. However, Gupta removes these members, leaving an empty space and silencing these political members.
Addressing colonialism and imperialism, Wulia’s Terra Incognita, Et Cetera (2009) magnifies the practice of imperialist expansion when territories are occupied by powerful countries. Being an interactive experience, the participants are given rules on how to successfully claim a spot of land on the world map and name their piece of land.
To cap off the exhibited works, the installation that catches the people’s attention the most is a large-scaled mixed media installation titled Here, There, Everywhere: Project Another Country (2018). The artwork was an opportunity for viewers to observe society personally and make sense of the government’s’ inability to satisfy the needs of the people and allowing decentralization. Cradling thousands of said to be “dream houses” made of cardboard boxes, the installation was said to be a powerful resonance to the homeless Filipinos who long for an actual home instead of being tucked in cardboard boxes along the sidewalks.
Overall, the exhibit was an experience that challenges people to think about the disturbances in society which aren’t fully addressed as we focus on solving problems that do not give much importance to the world.
The exhibit is supported by Galleria Continua, Mao Ji-hong Arts Foundation, Yavuz Gallery, and The Centre Pompidou. It will run until May 5, 2019 at MCAD along Dominga Street, Malate, Manila.
Photos by Anne Valmeo
