Cover The bamboo installation of Tripa de Gallina: Guts of Estuary
The bamboo installation of Tripa de Gallina: Guts of Estuary
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We dive into the perennial urban struggle of water pollution, using the Estero de Tripa de Gallina as a portrait of a flawed ecology
Flowing to Manila Bay through the Pasig River, the 7.6-kilometre-long Tripa de Gallina is considered the longest estuary in the Philippine capital. Though it is a significant tributary running from Pasay to Makati, it ironically needs to work on mitigating flooding and drain water due to congestion of residents and trash. This longstanding concern and its effects on Metro Manila’s urban living conditions prompted this year’s Philippine Pavilion representatives at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale to propose an architectural solution grounded on empathy, collaboration, reflection and gathering.
The Architecture Collective (TAC)—composed of Bien Alvarez, Matthew Gan, Archt Lyle La Madrid, Noel Narciso, and Arnold Rañada— mounts at the Arsenale the exhibition titled Tripa de Gallina: Guts of Estuary, co-curated by Archt Choie Funk and Sam Domingo. It offers a diagnosis of the water’s condition and a prognosis for the people’s future.
Read also: Enter a Multi-Sensory Filipino Exhibition at the 59th Venice Arts Biennale
Above A projection of the flowing estero showing interviews and drawings from the community
A projection of the flowing estero showing interviews and drawings from the community
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“It’s one step to more action for our country to realise that water is a part of our lives more than most nations. Hopefully, it’s the thing that makes people realise that we should have a relationship with water,” says Narciso, the project coordinator for TAC. He reinforces: “I see it as a return to the water. Water is becoming less accessible every day. And I think if we don’t return to it, or put it as a guiding principle in design, which is the core resource of humanity, then it is of consequence.”
Tripa de Gallina translates to “guts of the rooster”, and it is these very guts of the estuary being inspected by the Pavilion in a procedure of modular urban acupuncture. An immersive bamboo structure serves as a place of gathering and investigation. “It serves as a buoy for this mesh to be carefully unravelled and sustainably mended through a gritty collaborative action among these entangled actants, in the name of resilience,” curators Domingo and Archt Funk wrote in a statement.
Read also: The Philippines bags its first Biennale Archittetura Award with ‘Structures of Moral Support’
Above Consul General Elmer G Cata
Consul General Elmer G Cata
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The exhibition was borne out of a project in 2018 among students and faculty organised by Archt Funk for the Global Summer School (GSS). It was a two-week programme spearheaded by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, participated in by 15 other cities around the globe. “All participants in the GSS made use of a variety of digital tools to address chosen problems and, for the Manila node, we decided to unearth the complexity of the social and cultural aspects of the urban esteros,” Archt Funk says. In 2019, the group joined GSS again, involving social development workers, barangay communities, and local government officials around Tripa de Gallina. “We sought inspiration from two existing 1.2-metre-wide footbridges in the area. More than just a way to span the waterway, they are spaces where people hang out and eat while their children play, potentially building community. We later understood that public spaces, as environments for interaction and exchange of ideas, are what these people were deprived of,” she continues.
Read also: Business owners and personalities championing sustainable architecture in the Philippines
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What is documented in the end is the collective proposition, an estuarine inventiveness.
Through the windows of the bamboo installation, filmmaker and educator Jag Garcia from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde projects moving archival materials to create an immersive audio-visual encounter with the Estero day and night. From the groundwork, a lively prospect of the state of the entire ecology is imagined through the structure’s ethnographic projections.
“This platform wishes for a symbiotic recovery instead of human superiority over other entities. It presupposes forsaking hostility and inviting hospitality. It welcomes an assemblage that is in good shape,” the curators wrote in a statement.
Read also: How these Pratt Institute alumni are shaping the future of Filipino architecture and design
Above Details of the bamboo installation that visitors can walk through
Above Details of the bamboo installation that visitors can walk through
Details of the bamboo installation that visitors can walk through
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Senate President Pro-Tempore Loren Legarda, who is also the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Culture and the Arts and a principal figure in the country’s continuous participation in the Venice Biennale, expresses her gratitude and pride for this year’s exhibition. She emphasises that the problem affecting Estero de Tripa de Gallina and many other estuaries and waterways in the country is a clear and urgent climate emergency.
Read also: Save the Earth now or lose it in thirty years, say environmental experts
Above Arnold Rañada, Matthew Gan, Bien Alvarez, Lyle La Madrid, Atty Giorgia De Biasi, Ambassador-designate Nathaniel Imperial, Sam Domingo, Choie Funk, Heart Evangelista and Senator Chiz Escudero, Consul General Elmer Cato, and Noel Narciso
Arnold Rañada, Matthew Gan, Bien Alvarez, Lyle La Madrid, Atty Giorgia De Biasi, Ambassador-designate Nathaniel Imperial, Sam Domingo, Choie Funk, Heart Evangelista and Senator Chiz Escudero, Consul General Elmer Cato, and Noel Narciso
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“As we probe into the history of how this waterway came to be and the relationships among the stakeholders, we are reminded of our indigenous traditions that illustrate such deep reverence, respect and connection with water,” Legarda says. “Water was regarded with such high status, as a resource for sustenance, a source of healing and purification, and a home of the gods. Layered and complex factors such as history, consumerism and the demands of contemporary society have led to the gradual severance of humanity’s connection with nature. It is my sincere hope that this exhibition serves as a reminder to return to nature, to return to our only and only home.”
Above The bamboo installation with audio-visual projections featuring the archival narrative of the creek, as well as the community’s aspirations
The bamboo installation with audio-visual projections featuring the archival narrative of the creek, as well as the community’s aspirations
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“Through the exhibition, the world will have the opportunity to understand the realities faced by Filipinos and realise that this issue is something that they too are facing, potentially cultivating more in-depth and meaningful discussions that lead to collective action and a more sustainable future,” shares National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Chair and Philippine Pavilion Commissioner Victorino Mapa Manalo. The Philippine participation at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia is a collaborative undertaking of the NCCA, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Office of Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda. The exhibition is at the Arsenale and will run until November 26, 2023.
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About
Before assuming the Art and Culture Editor position, Franz has always had a penchant for visual and performing arts. He is passionate about exploring and writing about the local cultural scene and rediscovering the country’s storied past and rich heritage. Besides working on this luxury lifestyle magazine, Franz is an avid book reader, local traveller, museum-goer, chorister, and community theatre playwright.
Work
Franz earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Santo Tomas. He writes about local visual and performing artists and their craft; drinks wines, liquors, and spirits and talks about the creativity of their respective winemakers and master blenders; tries to learn more about business and investments; respects the tradition and artistry that go behind the making of watches and jewellery; and appreciates the genius of architecture and creative design.
As head of Tatler Philippines’ pool of writers, he helps them bring impactful and socially relevant stories to light.
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