TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“UNLIMITXT“)
© Dennis Rito, 2010

In this series, Rito seeks to examine the internal world of text-messaging users. He is compelled to explore how technology affects our society and faced with more virtual than face-to-face conversations, how do we, as a society progress ahead?

I really liked these images, especially the eerie glow that is left one the subjects’ faces. It’s an allusion to how absorbed we have become with our handheld devices. Variety in the subjects also break the possible monotony that such a series is prone to.

For more of Dennis’ works, visit his online portfolio. Incidentally, he writes the Philippine Photography Scene.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Karen Portraits“)
© Jake Verzosa

Jake Verzosa’s documentary projects exude a sense of calmness and wonder which is seldom observed in most photojournalists’ works. These stunning portraits of the women from the Karen tribe are simply breathtaking. Their natural beauty transcends all borders. While the tribe has been photographed extensively by photographers traveling to these isolated villages, this is the first time I’ve seen them photographed like that. No wonder too, as Verzosa works as a freelance fashion/commercial photographer in Manila. However, documentary and portraiture work speak closer to his heart.

See his other works on his website. Also worth checking out is his South East Asian work on ethnicity in the region. Even though we are a region with disparate religions, cultures and beliefs, the way of living often struck me as overtly similar. The pictures totally made me miss hitting the road less traveled, talking to people and trying the most exotic food I can find.

TOP TO BOTTOM, © Eduardo Masferre

Eduardo Masferre (1909-1995) was widely regarded as Philippines’ father of photography. Born of Spanish descent, he spent much of his life toiling farms and photographing the Cordillera, the mountainous regions in North Luzon. His black-and-white work was an anthropological record of the vanishing customs and rituals of the tribes in the region.

There aren’t many resources online with his images but some can be viewed here. His images can be viewed at the Masferre Inn and Restaurant in Sagada (it only serves food now), along a wall at the back of the dining area. A coffee table book was on sale but it was too expensive for my budget. The restaurant serves one of the best cheeseburgers I have ever eaten though! Sagada is about eleven hours from Manila, and you have to take a bus to Bontoc before changing to a jeep.

Read more about his life and work here and here.

The theme for this year’s CUT is Figure and once again, we are treated to an insight to Southeast Asia’s photography scene.

From the press release:

Artists featured in CUT09 are on the forefront of highlighting the problematics of representation in photography. Instead of subscribing to the belief that identity is a fixed and stable given, their subjects often defy easy catergorisation. These figures stand defiant against the cookie-cutter images of our contemporary environment, offering a window into and mirror of alternative reinvestments of the body as a site on which notions of selfhood (both individual or collective) are questioned, contested and at times, revised.

ABOVE, Blind Rash from (“Shooting Blanks”)
© Gina Osterloh

Featured artists include many familiar names (featured on the site or acquaintances of mine): Agan Harahap, Davy Linggar, Diana Lui, Genevieve Chua, Gina Osterloh, K Azril Ismail, Maitree Siriboon, Manit Sriwanichpoom, Melati Suryodarmo, MM Yu, Ohm Phanphiroj, Timur Angin, Wawi Navarroza, Yee I-Lann. The website contains a sample of the photographers’ works.

The exhibition would be showing at Valentine Willie Fine Art in Kuala Lumpur from Feb 4 to Feb 21, VFWA Singapore from Apr 29 to May 17 and finally Manila Contemporary from Jul 18 to Aug 8.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Family Spaces“)
© Stella Kalaw

Having left Philippines ten years ago, Kalaw began the project when she felt a loss in the meaning of home and family.

Continents apart, each home is a glimpse of interconnectedness through objects of the everyday Filipino. Worn tsinelas on a stair landing, a tabo floating in a balde, the Sacred Heart of Jesus–all markers of Pinoy identity, they are umbilical cords to the familiar.

I like the quietness of the works, which is further accentuated by the use of diptychs. We cannot tell with certainty where each image was taken but we can sense the strong presence of her family and her longing.

There would be an exhibition at Silverlens Gallery, Manila, Philippines on Jan 8. Visit her website to see the series in its entirety.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Desaparecido“)
© Estan Cabigas

In this series, Estan explored the complex mix of emotions and memories of a family with a missing husband/father. He was forcibly taken away in 2007 due to political reasons. However, his presence still lingers in the house; old faded photographs and handwritten notes. Without someone to support them, the family tries to make ends meet and live a normal life. Yet, there is an overpowering sense of sadness pervading through the images.

Visit his portfolio to see more of his other works. May I interest you to explore his extensive image collections of beetles or Philippines’ architectural history?

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Drawing“)
© Noelle Katigbak Tan, 2003-2005

Drawing comprises of landscapes that are overexposed in the darkroom, creating a subliminal and surreal look. Familiar elements are abstracted into sketches on photographic paper.

TOP TO BOTTOM, from (“Untitled“)
© Noelle Katigbak Tan, 2001-2002

Going in the other direction, Untitled consists of black prints punctuated with the occasional burst of light. It’s easy to see how she developed Drawing after working on this series.

Paul Roth, Curator of Photography and Media Arts at the Corcoran Gallery of Art describes Tan’s works as “conceptual explorations of our current social unease and technical forays to the medium’s outer limits” which “elide detail to suggest submerged truths; and dissipate reality to explore the unknown”.

The show is still on now at Silverlens Gallery, 2/F YMC Bldg. 2, 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City.

[Excerpt via Philippine Photography Scene]

In Carnival, he explores the themes of nostalgia, beauty and emotional authenticity.

The surreal and manufactured place served as backdrops to real human emotion. Since carnivals almost always pack up and build some place else, I also felt like capturing that bit of transient quality to the place.

TOP TO BOTTOM, (from “Carnival Photography”), 2002
© Miguel Nacianceno

Visit his online portfolio to see more works.

Take Nothing, Leave Nothing, 2004
© Ringo Bunoan

Two Years of Sleep, 2006
Installation using cotton from pillows
© Ringo Bunoan

Pillow Talk is the culmination of Ringo Bunoan’s body of work using pillows. It gathers seminal and significant pieces, including installations, sound work, photographs, and light boxes. Pillow Talk was awarded the silverlens foundation Completion Grant in 2007 and will run until April 19, 2008.

Ringo Bunoan is an artist, writer and curator. Since her graduation from the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in 1997, she has participated in numerous contemporary art exhibitions in Manila and across Asia.

From 1999-2004, she led the independent art space Big Sky Mind, which she co-founded with Katya Guerrero and other artists. In 2003, Ringo Bunoan was named as one of the Thirteen Artists by the Cultural Center of the Philippines. After nearly three years in Kathmandu, she is back in Manila to work on new projects, including a research on Philippine contemporary art for the Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong.

Ringo Bunoan, Pillow Talk
March 17 – April 19, 2008
Silverlens Gallery
2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City, Philippines

Gallery hours:
Mon to Fri 10am -7 pm
Sat 1 -6 pm

Do check out the gallery’s website for older exhibitions featuring contemporary photography from Philippines.

[thanks Stella!]

[all works © Max Pasion]

Visit his website to see more of his works. He also runs a blog featuring street photography taken in the States, as Max is currently staying in New Jersey.