EXHIBIT REVIEW: Raffy T. Napay's Sanctuary
2:45 AM
Identity
is analogous to your origin. It means locating yourself in a space in time. Origin
runs parallel with home. For some, home is coordinates away. For others, it is
the proximity between them and their loved ones. Some treat it as an idea they
hold on to; a settlement that wherever they go they can cling onto.
Home is a personal attribute that all
artists have or claim to. Raffy T. Napay, though strong in his medium seems to
lack in novelty in concept. Napay’s role as an artist is to make a statement that
is fairly adaptable and concerning a vast range of issues. His relative interpretation
of home is but a vain debut of his forthcoming as an artist.
Coming into the exhibit, one expects to
be given an actual biography of Napay as a person and as an artist through a
visual language but what emerges later on is an experience thoroughly enjoyed
by the viewer.
Raffy T. Napay is a graduate of EARIST
batch 2009 with a degree in the Fine Arts. He started small by painting scenes
of his everyday life. His inclination to family life will anchor his artist
residency eventually.
As a student, he would join different art
competitions always hoping to win, wanting to bring something to the table. He
would usually buy a roasted chicken to be feasted on with his family from the
prize he would earn in competitions. His take on life is as earnest as his take
on art.
During his early years as an artist, he
would experiment on acrylic. His works are big in scale and reminiscent of his
waking life. The subjects he would draw would jump from one to the other but
one thing remains steadfast. It is his love and affinity for his family. He
always comes home into a house clouded with pools of thread because his mother
sews for a living. This medium would put him in the visual artist’s map
eventually. His father, on one hand, drives a tricycle and is his most faithful
apprentice when it comes to art making. His father would always hope for a
sunny day when he knows that Raffy’s work needs heat to dry. Raffy’s dreams, just like his family life,
were simple and innocent.
Napay’s Sanctuary exhibit takes the
viewers in a cradle enveloped in the play of lights. Working with threads, the
artist manages to incorporate artistry with entertainment. A forest-like theme
comes to mind as Napay recalls his spring term residency in Liverpool Hope
University. As a recipient of the Ateneo Art Awards artist grant last 2013,
Napay returns with subtleness and solidity as he mounts an exhibit that is akin
to a refuge and perhaps to him, a home.
He managed to transform the low concept
of home into a brimming promise of a habitat as a kingdom, given that he made
the space look otherworldly. The light he used gets its light from other
sources, a clear trait of his resourcefulness as an artist.
His subject matter includes trees, nests
and flowers, all neatly arranged in both two and three-dimensional angles using
thread. The subject matter confronts freedom and grounding oneself in obvious
manifestations. The element of light comes in every 15 minutes and is integral
to the appreciation of the whole exhibit. In darkness, there is a magnification
to every detail and every thread he used, almost like a looking glass to his
soul. This will beg the question of his ability to go beyond the superficial
concept of the relativity of home at the same time it will take you into a
whirlwind appreciation through a fresh perspective.
His mixed media installations are but a
product of his upbringing and the liberty he experienced in London. The concept
of landscapes in London allowed him to encounter vast opportunities. His
medium, the thread, brought him back to their simple, domestic life in the Philippines.
His Abode
installation, 125 pieces in total and has varied dimensions, are
reminiscent of nests that are made out of chicken wire, thread, and fiber-filled
sculptures. The symbol of nests is recurrent in Napay’s works, almost like a
figure of derivation, a source. These are a clear indication of Napay’s mastery
of his chosen skill.
The 210x 600 cm work called the Sanctuary showed Napay’s
attention to detail. The element of light at his chosen interval displayed the
work’s vulnerability. The embroidery in this work can be attributed to a soft,
gentle touch of a female. His approach was nonetheless meticulous and clear-cut
as is attributed to a female.
Flows
of blessings,
meanwhile, is almost like forest drapes. Made out of plastic mesh and thread,
this installation gives the whole space an ethereal feel. The installation
added a vital factor to the appreciation of the exhibit. Its life-like size and
the way it is hung onto the ceiling makes for a worthwhile glance. It
transports you to a whole world entirely, one that is different from your own.
Napay succeeded in translating his
interpretation of home to the viewer that omits our previous definition of its
relativity. It makes you think about your own place in this world and how it
can make you appreciate the minute details and change it to a glamorous habitat.
The layout of the exhibit is a
rectangular enclosure aimed to border the works into one coherent theme. The whole
space is maximized and well utilized. Visitors are comfortable enough to gape
at the artworks while not sacrificing the whole experience of the curated
exhibit.
At the heart of the exhibit lies the
different nests or the Abode installation.
I believe that this is the artist way of telling that we all have our origins,
different in shapes and sizes but we all share the same universe of a
sanctuary.
Napay’s exhibition allowed us to
anticipate his upcoming shows. The artist grant is his springboard to other
issues and concepts worth telling.
Raffy T.Napay succeeded in telling his
story and making his audience appreciate his life through a recalling of their
own. A combination of his history and destination allowed for the perfect
metaphor of home transforming it to an aesthetically pleasant promise of a
sanctuary. A sanctuary is a symbol of his here and now.
Raffy Napay’s Sanctuary together with
Charles Buenconsejo’s Relative Nothing, a back-to-back artist grant exhibit, is
on view at the Ateneo Art Gallery until September 12 2015.
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