Deeper

Monday, December 12, 2011

WHAT is on the surface can be superficial. That’s why this select local art group chooses to delve more deeply into the message of what “happens beyond,” through the different mediums of contemporary art.

The art group Wawart, had their debut exhibit dubbed as “Sawum,” at the Bluewater Gallery, Bluewater Maribago beach resort recently, with special guest Miss Universe third runner-up Shamcey Supsup joining the opening ceremonies.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

A fitting combination, one might say: the beauty queen’s success cannot be judged by her looks alone, as her credentials extend past her smiling, waving and strutting at the catwalk. The woman topped the Architecture Licensure Examination in July 2009 and graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines.

As for the art group composed of talented individuals from all over Cebu City, this show displaying their art that interprets their “desire to fathom the unknown” is just the beginning.

“We formed the group Wawart last year, which is named after the Cebuano street word for ‘money.’ For the Bisdak’s (true Visayan) ear, it can also mean ‘wow art,’” the art group’s head Radel Paredes mentions in his opening statement.

Money and art: it’s tempting to say that this pair shares a close resemblance to water and oil. But the art group chooses to view this in a different light.

“Contemporary thought has already abandoned the easy dichotomies in favor of ambiguity and paradox… The lines between them are not always fixed… With this in mind, we formed Wawart and adopted the tagline ‘No money in art.’”

“In the spirit of self-irony, the pop artist then neither endorses nor rejects commercialism. Through exaggeration, we are forced to confront the reality of mass culture. But it makes no clear pronouncements and leaves it to the viewer to see for himself,” Radel adds.

The exhibit Sawum takes inspiration from the gallery’s pristine beach setting and, thus, results in the artists’ personal interpretations displaying “the elements.”

“The artists agreed that the concept for this exhibit was to play with the elements—water, fire, wind, earth—and to try to match it to the advantage of where the exhibit was going to be held, which was at the beach,” group member and Sun.Star Cebu’s art director Josua Cabrera explains.

For Josua’s take, he takes an image of nature’s wrath and paints a rather, romantic depiction of it. He calls his series “Unos.”

“I got this idea during the rainy months, and since I was staying in my place near the beach. I could see that when the rain was about to fall, the sky and sea would be very disturbed.”

With the use of a bamboo pen dipped in Chinese ink and red acrylic, Josua then painted his impression of what happens when the sky and sea flirt with each other: resulting in passionate exchange.

Another artist, Rio Villegas, takes the theme and tries to explore a woman’s being.

“You may think you may know a lady from the outside, but on the inside, she could be very unpredictable,” the artist who also works for Sun.Star Cebu shares.

His painting, dubbed simply as “Woman,” is his take on the fusion of realism and expressionism. It shows the female face but with the lower half submerged in water.

The upper half shows a regular figure, but the one at the bottom explores a variety of colors; which Rio likens to a woman’s fascinating character as well.

The other participating artists sharing their talents are Noel Villaflor of Sun.Star Cebu, Nomar Miano, Katherine Rivera, Crezzo Paz, RV Sanchez, Jeffrey Sisican, Patricia Zosa, Jay Jore and Sam Despi.

The exhibit runs until Jan. 9, and non-resort guests are requested to call the resort to arrange an exhibit-viewing appointment.