The Art House Curates Sustainable Murals in Circuit Makati
Contemporary art collective The Art House curated multiple art installations in Circuit Makati during the 10 Days of Art. The project pushed for the idea of using art to connect a community, including a centerpiece mural made by the artists and the local community.
Multiple murals were also included in Circuit Makati made by artists Anina Rubio and Trip63. The biggest name included is artist Leeroy New and his installation Elemental, which was featured in Ayala Triangle Gardens in the past and will be reinstalled in Nuvali at a later date.
Community Mural Painting
The most interesting new component of this exhibition by Art House is its Community Mural Painting. From February 17 to 18, different artists and creatives, and even just people who were passing by the area at the time, participated in the painting of the street art. Artists who participated in the painting included Leeroy New, MarPolo Cabrera, Meyo de Jesus, Sam Penaso, Nasser Lubay, and Kurinai Lopera.
When asked about the project, The Art House Founder and CEO Carlo Pineda called it “community centered, where the [community is] part of the creative output.” The project utilizes sustainable materials, including water-based paint from Boysen.
Murals by Anina Rubio and Trip63
Beyond that, Anina Rubio and Trip63 created individual street murals of their own. Rubio’s work is Meditations on Biodiversity, which “invites a stroll along the ‘meditative path’ to connect and converse with the different species found in the Philippines.” Rubio says that she hopes that the environmentally-themed work compels people to protect nature.
Trip63’s work, meanwhile, is Stance, a tribute to breakdancing. Trip63 uses “a dynamic and visual narrative” to discuss the history of breakdancing and its relationship to graffiti art. Originally a paint-by-the-numbers piece, Trip63 decided to do a freeform mural instead, saying that it adds “more depth and dimension to the artwork.”
Pineda said that the choice of the two artists was intentional: “These two artists tap [different] markets. What’s important is there are artists open to such collaboration, which is very important to us. They both are very supportive of our materiality program ever since we started.”
Elemental Leads to No Waste
Meanwhile, the Elemental installation by Leeroy New highlights the need of sustainability in art. New made Elemental in collaboration with Liter of Light, who provided the solar-powered lights for the display. The installation is iconic for its use of recycled materials—in this case, water containers—to create these tree-like art structures.
New’s approach to the artwork is specifically-oriented towards sustainability, including the use of materials that he sources from unconventional places like junk shops.
“The intention is to maximize use of the surplus and collected ‘waste’ materials into cost efficient but still structurally practical and functional spaces. This will be achieved through collaboration with many different specialists and creatives,” New said.
New’s work uses recycled materials. Even the solar-powered lights used “will be redistributed to the communities in need” by Liter of Light after its use. But before that, New will likely exhibit the installation around the country; the installation is already booked to be shown at Nuvali.
Art House: Public Creativity
The Circuit Makati exhibit portrays The Art House’s ambitions of creating a community-driven culture across the country. From the collaborative mural to the exhibition of works with sustainable materials, it shows that art need not be exclusive to the canvas—that interesting works can be created even in the streets.
“We are hoping to be able to build these art house experiences all over the country,” Pineda said. “Especially given that we [have] our current traveling sustainable art installation visiting the different communities in the [Greater Metro Manila] area for now. We hope to be able [to] show more of these to future development and sights.”
Related reading: Visual artist Archie Geotina’s latest mural is a monument to everyday heroes
