LULAN, ULILA, LIHAM, ALAGA, NAMAN

Written By Kevin Roque

UP Fine Arts Gallery presents LULAN, ULILA, LIHAM, ALAGA, NAMAN, a group exhibition showcasing the works of Dennis Andrew Aguinaldo, Mia Angela, Ched De Gala, Don Kusuanco, Irma Lacorte, Tin Palattao, Des Pirinsesa, Mary Ann Jimenez-Salvador, and Ledz Taboada. The exhibition explores language as a theme for art-making, focusing on the relationship between visual and verbal imagery. Just as writers have experimented with the visual qualities of language, the artists in this show have similarly experimented with incorporating language into their work.

The visual qualities of the text can enrich the semantic meaning of the words, such as their spatial formation on the grid. The Sator square, which serves as the main inspiration for the show, exemplifies this concept. It is a lettered magic square comprising 25 letters arranged in a five-by-five grid of acrostic Latin palindromes. This cryptogram, imbued with magical properties, is commonly viewed as a household charm or a mystical lock.

Similarly, LULAN, ULILA, LIHAM, ALAGA, NAMAN denote the artists' connections to home. In this collaborative project, each artist receives a Sator-type square based on keywords encoded with clues about their dwelling as well as their artistic practice. Using these words as a starting point, the visual forms decrypt memories of their home.

The exhibit runs from March 7-27, 2024 at Gallery One, UP Fine Arts Gallery.

Source:

Exhibition notes at UP Fine Arts Gallery.

Published in University of the Philippines (UP) social media accounts.

Kevin Roque

Utilizing a collage approach in drawing, Kevin Roque offers enigmatic works that touch on societal issues and literary perspectives. Roque graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2022. Before this, he was a self-taught artist, creating illustrations and book covers for locally published books. Roque has participated in various group exhibitions in Metro Manila since 2010 and has had solo exhibitions at the Prism Gallery and the Center for Art, New Ventures & Sustainable Development (CANVAS) Gallery. He also joined local artist residencies such as CANVAS Artist in Residence in Batangas and Linangan Art Residency in Cavite. Recently, he got shortlisted for the first SANAG UP Art Prize. Roque has been a member of several artist groups, including the UGATlahi Artist Collective, Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (InK), and the Malate Literary Folio.

As a skilled worker who values technical skill and craftsmanship, he uses graphite in drawing to capture the gritty details and nuances of his subjects, making it a powerful storytelling tool to illustrate issues such as inequality, labor conditions, or societal injustices. In his compositions, he seemingly blurs notions of reality and perception. This deliberate blurring of boundaries adds layers of depth and intrigue, inviting viewers to contemplate their fluidity and subjectivity. He also employs visual metaphors, where images stand in for larger ideas or narratives. This allows him to convey complex themes or stories in a condensed and evocative manner.

“In all his works, the referents, whose meanings are culled from history, literature, and present social conditions, are made to exist in the same pictorial plane. Often, what they signify, coincide, collude, and blur. Roque’s inchoate marks and textures also draw attention to a palpable sense of space. Instead of a tabula rasa, one discerns faint and obscure stirrings between and amid more established significations. Roque’s works reveal indications of progressive politics yet veer from direct fervor and incitement of emotions. Without discarding the seriousness of the topic, Roque employs more oblique methods that prod at the surfaces and forms of the nation’s socio-historical and political issues“ (JC Rosette).

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