Dex Fernandez: Continuing the Great Infestation of 'Garapata'

But like every artist, Fernandez lived a double life at the time. He had a day job as a graphic designer for a printing company while in the process of refining his art and making a name in the contemporary art scene.

"Almost all of us in Pilipinas Street Plan had day jobs and we would meet every weekend or when there is an event to make art out of passion," Fernandez recalls. "They opened the doors to street art for me. I've learnt to create art fast—one movement, one application, then we move to the next."

After balancing three aspects of his artist life: Pilipinas Street Plan, his day job, and mounting exhibitions in galleries, he got hired as a mural artist in Saudi Arabia along with his friends. Spending a year there, he was able to push himself further and enhance his skills in making large-scale art, until he returned to the Philippines to become a full-time artist.

Although Garapata found its home in Pilipinas Street Plan and helped Fernandez become a sought-after artist, he was already playing with it during his college years. With his knowledge in branding due to his background in advertising, Fernandez used the image of a tick as a vessel for his characters and feelings, sometimes of his own personality and message. Elongated or polygonal with odd-numbered legs and deadpan eyes, Fernandez's Garapata became a motif that catapulted him to the roster of CCP's leading artists in 2015.

"From there, the concept of Garapata grew and gave birth to numerous iterations," he said.

Although well received here by leading galleries and massive art events like Art Fair Philippines and Art in the Park, both of which Fernandez has participated in several times, graffiti and mural art have a divisive reception among collectors and critics.

"That's the problem here in the Philippines because large-scale art in other countries is very popular. The perennial question of who decides art's value, and what are the standards of excellence or beauty in art, make it difficult for the dynamic, evolving art to be appreciated," Fernandez says.

"Maybe they think that because it is not on a canvas or in a frame, it has a lower investment value. But you know in countries, people buy these murals!" Fernandez comments. "It's a testament that art is really subjective and thus appreciation for the arts and all its forms is really important to be elevated in our country," he adds.

Among many Filipino artists, Fernandez idolises contemporary artist icons such as Manuel Ocampo, David Medalla, Manny Garibay, and Elmer Borlongan who all have placed the Philippines on the global art scene map. He also fancies the works and philosophy of international artists like Andy Warhol, Keith Harring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Yayoi Kusama as evident in his own works' compositions and how he promotes his art.

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The colour palette and spontaneity of Basquiat, Harring's line drawings, and the transcendence of Warhol's art to commercial viability through mass production are evident in Fernandez's path as an artist. But he admits that his creative process is progressive.

"I only have a picture in mind but the process is not concrete," Fernandez explains. "When I start drawing, I just go on and on with that mental image, it changes or becomes added with other elements," he says quipping that he always improvises.

Generally, Fernandez's works are maximalist to the point that no space in a wall or canvas is left unmarked. Infestation is the overarching theme in his works, placing innumerable iterations of garapata—sleeping, eating, partying, studying, carrying, et cetera—throughout the space. His themes in every exhibition or large-scale work vary but are always grounded in stories. "It can be personal, or a story I've heard from a friend, of my family or the society," he says. "But most of the time it's about me, what I think, feel, experience," he adds.

His venturing into merchandising and introducing Garapata to the mass market started during his early years with Pilipinas Street Plan. He and his fellow artists in the community participated in the weekend bazaars at Cubao Expo. For Fernandez, he transformed Garapata to tote bags and t-shirts. Eventually, the artist elevated his brand by making collaborations with galleries that have design stores and other brands. Most popular among these would be the stickers but there are also now skateboard covers, hoodie jackets, and more.

Before, one would only be able to buy Garapata merch from pop-up stores and select galleries. Now the proliferation has been greatly widened thanks to the rise of social media and online selling. The artist now has a collaboration with Kumu as the revolutionary social media company opened its e-commerce site, Kumu Drop Shop. "Actually pati nga Carousell, pinatulan ko na e! (Actually, I even joined Carousell to sell my merchandise)," he laughs.

Read also: Kumu Founder Roland Ros on How Social Media Can Spark Social Change

One of the most significant exhibitions Fernandez did was the group show in Palais de Tokyo, an art centre in Paris, France back in 2015. Fernandez, Ryan Villamael (who later received his CCP Thirteen Artists award in 2021) and Kawayan de Guia represented the Philippines in this Southeast Asian group art show entitled "Secret Archipelago" under the direction and guidance of Khai Hori, deputy director of artistic programming at Palais de Tokyo and senior curator at the Singapore Art Museum.

"In my piece, I wanted to show how the 'politicks' run the society, and vice versa. I’m illustrating the questions in my mind like who is really controlling the individual or group, who is really the powerful one, Who’s really the strongest, and so on. In the end, we’re all just a piece of bacteria trying to show up in a very small terrarium," the artist shares with Tatler.

In 2019, he returned to Palais de Tokyo to mount another show, this time with animated, psychedelic video projections of Garapata shifting forms.

Another notable work of Fernandez is the permanent mural for Dawu National High School that was commissioned by the government of Taitung, Taiwan and was organised by the Hidden South Art Project. It remains his largest work to date, which was finished in 21 days and with five assistants. Unveiled in May 2018, it is the product of Fernandez's residency in the province of Taitung in Taiwan. Titled "VUVU & vuvu", Fernandez retold the origin myth of the Paiwan people, the largest among the 16 aboriginal groups of Taiwan, by mixing stories of myth and reality.

Another exhibition Fernandez is proud of is the grant that he received from the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) in 2015. This led him to Provincetown, Massachusetts where he had an artist-residency program for two months. This particular exhibition is close to his heart because the theme he came up with is about his parents.

For over a decade now, Fernandez has been known for his iconic brand, which represents countless personalities, emotions, social milieu, and even thoughts and phantasms. Despite its ever-changing figure, one would see outright that it is a Garapata of Fernandez.

"For me, Garapata is an empty vessel," he explains. "Whichever story that I apply, it affects Garapata's form and it bends to my will. Through mere intuition and my creative eye for image, I am able to weave Garapata to my story and message," he says. "In every brushstroke or line drawing, my pulse tells me where to go and I surrender," he adds.

"I don't set any expectations as to what kind of experience the audience would have in my exhibitions. I just let them react to it genuinely," he says. "If they don't like it, it's okay with me. I still do my part in showcasing my work, and my story."

As this new era of the contemporary art scene becomes more welcoming for street artists, muralists, and graffiti, Fernandez gives advice to aspiring street artists: "Just continue doing what you love to do. Don't be conscious of what other people would say. At the end of the day, we should please ourselves." Another realisation for him as an artist is also to invest in assets that will make him secure for the future. It's one thing that artists oftentimes overlook.

"Art is life. Not only it can give meaning to our lives but it can also be our means of living. If one removes art from my body, I would probably die and be worthless. So for young artists, continue making art as no one will stop you from doing what you love. As long as you're not stepping on someone's toes, I will support you and cheer you on. It's also important that as you progress in your career as an artist, you learn. The lessons you will gain will be your weapon as you journey on."

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