10-Day Art Walk 2024 Opens Exhibition to the Public
In anticipation of the Art Fair 2024, the Art Walk 2024 in Makati opened on February 8. The exhibits, which span multiple areas in Ayala Avenue and Makati, showcases public art projects from esteemed local artists.
The launch happened at the Ayala Triangle Gardens, where they featured three giant art exhibitions situated in the area. The ArtWalk has expanded beyond the Central Business District of Makati this year, and now includes Circuit Makati, with different performances happening on the grounds.
The launch highlighted different exhibits around Makati, including a photo exhibit by Fotomoto at the Legazpi Underpass. Multiple photo exhibits by Fotomoto and Trish Shishikura have also been set up at Greenbelt 5 and Glorietta, respectively.
One of the primary featured exhibits during the launch is Isaiah Cacino’s Prismatic Embrace. The piece shows a series of shifting colors projected onto the area’s Green Wall. A colorful piece that attempts to show Cacino’s religious faith, he spoke about the inspiration of the piece during the launch.
“This vibrant tapestry invites you to lose yourself in a radiant embrace, a whisper of the royal garments worn by Jesus in the stories of faith,” he said as he introduced the piece. “The symphony of colors symbolizes the radical transformation that unfolds when we open our hearts to divine light.”
Giant Wonders of Light
The launch highlighted Derek Tumala’s A Warm Orange Coloured Liquid as an exhibit to watch. It’s described as “a solar-powered model of a Sun made of recycled pulp paper and metal structure.” A striking giant creation in the midst of Tower One and Exchange Plaza at Ayala Triangle Gardens, it shows off the artistic melding of science and art.
“As we experience a warmer, changing climate, poetry and caution comes as an essential impulse. Renewable energy, net zero carbon emission, counter-extractivism exudes as the concept of the work, both in theory and in practice,” the Art Walk website said.
Another exhibit highlighted during the event was Elemento and Nautilus of Dreams by Leeroy New. New created the structure in collaboration with Liter of Light, Art House, and Search Mindscape Foundation.
The artwork features a surrounding of water containers lit up by the solar water bottles advocated by Liter of Light. It’s shaped like a shell, and when one walks into this structure, you can see how the bottles brightly illuminate inside and outside the exhibit.
Leeroy New talked about how hard the sourcing for the water bottles were. He elaborated about the need for there to be “practical solutions” to environmental problems. He cited problems such as the inability to use materials that might deteriorate soon as a motivator for the project.
“I sourced from different junk shops to collect these bottles. And as someone who does large-scale works, the problem of the life cycle of materials is the issue,” New said. “So why not focus your energies on kind of problem solving and creating practical solutions to this problem? For this work, we sort of kinda proposed a semi-architectural structure—semi-functional which can be pushed even further.”
Environmentally-Friendly Art Walk
New spoke about the Nautilus of Dreams as a way of creating practical art projects that can be used in the future. He built the exhibit around the ideas of Elemento. Liter of Light founder Illac Diaz said the materials used for the installation will be redistributed to energy-poor communities after.
“So this is kind of a prototype for how architecture, design, and art can merge to create something that’s of practical use,” New said of the art exhibition.
“These are the same lights that will go to the community afterward. So it’s not just an art work, but it’s really, we’re gonna give the gift of light afterwards. So it’s also important to us what happens after, which is of course the legacy of this kind of work,” Diaz said.
Art Walk 2024 remains viewable to the public until February 18, 2024, while the Art Fair 2024 opens on February 16.
Related reading: A Homecoming: Art Fair Philippines Has Returned to The Link for Its 2023 Edition
