SM Mall of Asia X Secret Fresh Gallery

Last Thursday, I got an email invite from SM MOA to check out their graffiti art exhibit in collaboration with Secret Fresh Gallery happening on May 9. The exhibit  featuring works of Christian Tamondong, Egg Fiasco and JJ Zamoranos was launched at the North Entertainment Mall and I had the chance to squiggle out of the office for a while (thanks to my awesome boss!) to take photos and talk to the organizers of the event. 

This exhibit is an effort by SM to showcase graffiti as an art form. They've started it in SM North EDSA Skywalk with Dee Jae Paeste, and it makes me so happy that they're doing it again with 3 of the most talented graffiti artists in the Philippines. I think it's a pretty awesome move from SM because they have the space and the resources to really show the works of these artists to mall goers. Graffiti has always had a bad rap with the average onlooker since it's almost always synonymous to vandalism, but to the artists, it's simply a form of self expression, defying limits and getting out of the comfort zone using the urban landscape. There is a thin line between vandalism and street art as anyone can get a can of spray paint, draw a few faces and a couple of cuss words and say it's self expression but you know good art when you see one, I guess, and hell I've seen them at work last Friday!

Egg Fiasco and his signature monkey biz

 

Christian Tamondong and what I assume is a bunny rabbit (but I don't want to jump into conclusions)

JJ Zamoranos and his cutie creature

Dear Ice Cream, Y U SO COOL?!

What a dork.

The exhibit also showed toy sculptures from the Secret Fresh gallery at the North Mall's ground floor pocket garden. These were carved from wood and painted with acrylic. The artists painted these themselves based on their own design. I met Angelo, a tattoo artist. He showed me his box boy tattoo by Christian Tamondong. He got it two years ago! 

With Dennis and Big Boy of Secret Fresh Gallery

 According to Big Boy of Secret Fresh, the preparation for the launch only took them two weeks. They've managed to bring the artists together and pull off the exhibit in that short amount of time. The two murals located on each side of the pocket garden was done by the three artists within 2 hours! It blows my mind. It takes me almost the whole day to paint on paper! Talking to Dennis and Big Boy, I could feel that there's so much enthusiasm and passion about street art and vinyl toy collecting. Secret Fresh believes in their artists regardless of background or credentials and provide opportunities for emerging ones to break into the scene. The whole scene though is all about community, collaboration, support and respect for each other's work.

There is something about street art that will always amaze and capture me. The scale of the paintings, the medium, the ideas behind the images being made; most importantly, it's the fact that it's never snooty or intimidating. I love that I can walk up to a painting, touch it one day and return to the same place and see a different painting on another. It's really a win-win situation. This partnership ensures that artists will have the space that they need to show their work,  SM MOA won't have to worry about boring white walls again. Hopefully, this collaboration between Secret Fresh and SM Mall of Asia is only the first of many. 

The Secret Fresh Art Exhibit runs until May 31, 2014
Artists:
Egg Fiasco
Christian Tamondong
JJ Zamoranos

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The Garden Exhibit at Sweet Ecstasy, Cubao X

Last June 22, art, music and tons of inspiration converged at Sweet Ecstasy in Cubao X for Coy Placido's The Garden exhibit. Despite the rainfall and traffic that Saturday night, people crowded the venue to view the artist's work. The exhibit showcases more than 30 artworks that include digital paintings, vector art and photo manipulations, created with the central theme of duality or in Coy's own words, "the inescapable condition of our nature within humanity and beyond the bounds of society to think in contrast or in twofold." 

Two floors of Sweet Ecstasy displayed Coy's work, and exhibit goers were also engaged in an origami challenge  to be included in the sea of paper cranes that served to support one of his more minimalist digital illustrations called "Sweets In Every Fold". I struggled to follow the instructions lined beside the staircase, but eventually managed to give my share of paper folding sweetness.

Aside from awesome art, the crowd was also treated with fantastic music from Abby Asistio, Session Road, KAZE, Pedicab, Top Junk, Peryodiko and Coffeebreak Island. It was an exhibit turned street party as the audience inched closer to the stage, ignoring the rain drops whilst singing, dancing and taking photos of the performers. 

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