Contemporary design refers to the constantly evolving design trends of today. With the power to design our built environments, architects have been experimenting with various architectural approaches. Whether that is through unconventional forms or the integration of smart technologies, BluPrint lists down Filipino architects who are defining contemporary architecture. Deo Alam Architect Deo Alrashid Alam […]
‘Travel Light’: Pete Jimenez Finds Life in Construction Detritus
Travel Light, Pete Jimenez’s newest exhibit at Artinformal Gallery in Makati, supplies its central thesis within the subtitle. “Take nothing for the journey – keep it simple; no bag, no bread, no money.” It references a verse in the Bible, but within this context, it exemplifies a non-consumerist take on our existence. Shift with the tides of the world; be adaptable.
The waste created by our society is reaching unsustainable levels thanks to consumerist trends, fast fashion, and landfills filled with unused objects. Jimenez’s works in this exhibit points at this waste and asks why it cannot have a second life beyond its initial use.
“For the artist, as evidenced by this work as well as his practice, there is dignity in objects that remains and persists despite the countless recycles. Hence, one only needs a capacious imagination to breathe life into things, without destroying their materiality,” Carlomar Arcangel Daoana said in their write-up.
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Forests of Rebars and Bags
As artworks, Travel Light gives audiences a strong anti-consumerist message rooted in ideas of care and renewal. Pete Jimenez uses over 40 giant cement bags to create a forest of light in the exhibit space. Beyond the cement bags, he also uses other construction materials, like rebar remodeled to hang the bags on.
With differing heights and even different colors and textures between the bags, they do look like trees in a forest. The scale of the project feels dizzying at times—it’s hard to even photograph the whole exhibit at once. One can even walk through and around them, if one can fit well enough between the spaces.
Pete Jimenez repurposed the cement bags in ways that adhered closer to the message they desired to send. Cement bags are basic woven sacks that workers have to carry on their backs from the center to ensure balance.
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The artist adds bag handles to many of them, signifying an upgrade, so to speak, in function. It’s worth pointing out because that change in design gives it a new life beyond storing bags of cement together. It now can store other items, with easier ways of carrying the objects.
Dignity in Less
The exhibit recycles these bags to find them a new purpose, to show that no one is tied to their past. And then the artist subverts the idea of the bag in the first place within the text of the works. Presenting them as empty and suspended in rebar shows the lightness of life in a whole new angle.
In certain angles the rebar fades under the shadows of the light. This creates the illusion of these cement bags floating away, a literal application of “travel light.” It seems intentional on the artist’s part, as they seem to show us what a world without burdens could look like.
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“The lack, if it’s not perverse such as in poverty, can be uplifting, as one no longer needs to struggle with the burden of possessions,” Daoana said in their write-up.
Travel Light challenges us with the idea of a world where instead of pursuing excess, we instead pursue enough. That we find satisfaction in less and work towards those ideas in the future. In a world of excessive waste and the desire for higher, for more, it’s an interesting lesson to impart through art.
Related reading: The Barn: An Idyllic Home Made of Ethically Sourced and Reclaimed Timber
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In the Philippines, adaptive reuse gained traction during the 1970s with the rise of conservation and environmental preservation movements. It offered an architectural solution that reuses existing spaces to fit modern needs. Across the country, several projects demonstrate how this approach is being applied—transforming heritage structures into active spaces for culture, hospitality, and community life. […]
From residential spaces to civic structures, lighting dictates the mood of a space. It controls the visual dynamics of an interior, serving as a guiding tool that highlights key design elements, including materials and textures. Related Reading: Lampscaping: How to Light up Your Home like a Pro Regulating the Mood: Natural and Artificial Light in […]
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More and more Filipinos are flocking to condominium communities. Often tucked within busy city centers, condo living acts as a small respite from urban chaos. Faced with the challenge of transforming a cramped condominium into a warm living space, BluPrint lists condo interior design ideas that can maximize each square foot of small spaces. Purposeful […]
Modern bathrooms are no longer purely functional spaces. Increasingly, they are being designed as environments that support cleanliness, ease, and quiet restoration within the home. As daily life becomes more demanding and health awareness continues to rise, homeowners are beginning to expect more from the spaces where daily rituals begin and end. For architects and […]
From the moment a diner steps through the door, each detail shapes how a meal is experienced. Restaurant design has evolved, with architects and culinary professionals collaborating to create built spaces that are as intentional as the menu itself. The spatial atmosphere acts as an additional ingredient that can define the culinary experience. Taupe and […]
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