Cover A work from Celline Mercado for 'The Wild Garden Of Childhood' (Photo: Celine Mercado)
A work from Celline Mercado for 'The Wild Garden Of Childhood' (Photo: Celine Mercado)
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Take a trip down memory lane. In 'The Wild Garden of Childhood,' six artists display works that relieve our childhood experiences
There are only three ways in which we remember our childhood—with fondness, resentment, or disgust. However we want to do it, in the end, these memories are meant to make us feel nostalgic. In Empty Scholar and Modeka Art's The Wild Garden of Childhood, artists Carzen Arpa Esprela, Celline Mercado, Chalk Zaldivar, Ian Anderson, Kim Borja, and Miguel Puyat put up an exhibition that serves as a meditative space for those who want to remember their early years.
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The exhibition will open on February 24, Friday at 6:00 in the evening. A portion of the proceeds from the exhibition will be going to the Virlanie Foundation, a non-profit and non-sectarian organisation that empowers, loves, and protects abandoned, abused, exploited, neglected, and orphaned children.
Get to know the artists below:
1. Kim Borja
Above Kim Borja
Kim Borja
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Kimberly "Kim" Borja explores different art mediums including oil paint, acrylic, watercolour, and sculpture. Although relatively young, the artist was able to create her technique using bright glowing and inverted colours.
In college, Borja participated in various art competitions like the Modern and Contemporary Art Festival - Philippines (2022), Art Moments Jakarta - Indonesia (2022), The ManilaBang Show (2022), Art In the Park (2022 ), Xavier Art Fest (2022 and 2023).
Related: Imahica Art Gallery's 'La Moderna Filipina' Exhibit Celebrate Generations of Women in Arts
2. Celline Mercado
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Celine Mercado
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Pampangueño visual artist Celline Mercado is fond of themes that involve "memory, identity, and mental illness". Her art practice spans a variety of media from graphite and digital drawings to craft-based sculptural pieces.
Her works were once featured in Manila, San Francisco, and Melbourne. Aside from her art practice, she has worked as a curatorial researcher, illustrator, and graphic designer.
3. Chalk Zaldivar
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Chalk Zaldivar
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Satirical takes on social and political issues are evident in Chalk Zaldivar's work. This style he presents through a distinct, recognisable visual language that makes light out of dark situations.
At first glance, his paintings and drawings appear playful and lighthearted, with pop and pastel colour palettes and cartoon-like images. Upon closer inspection, unsettling details emerge.
See more: Artist in Focus: 'It's Plet's Palette'
4. Miguel Puyat
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Miguel Puyat
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Miguel Puyat is an interdisciplinary artist who works with installations, sculptures, drawings, textiles, and new media. He explores a range of narratives that hint at existentialism, nostalgia, and subcultures. Since 2011, he has exhibited extensively in different art spaces and galleries in Manila.
Puyat studied Fine Arts (Painting) at the University of the Philippines-Diliman and received an artist residency from Light and Space Contemporary through their LSC-AIR program in 2013.
5. Carzen Esprela
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Carzen Esprela
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Carzen Esprela is known for his work Bag in a Boat, which was featured in various public spaces and art exhibitions including Tin-aw Art Gallery, Art in the Park, UP Fine Arts grounds, and the UP Vargas Museum. His works study "the intricacies of memory" and remembering people and places that made an impact on his life.
6. Ian Anderson
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Ian Anderson
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The works of Ian Anderson are characterised as meticulous and extremely labour-intensive hand-drawn art on two or three-dimensional objects. He loves mixing the abstract and the figurative, weaving characters and text to create distinct visual narratives.
In 2017, Anderson began his international ventures to develop a clientele outside the United States. He had a solo exhibition in Tokyo which incorporated performance art and shibari [binding] into his work. In 2018, he had his first show in the Philippines where he is now based. The group show at Leon Gallery International featured the artist's In the Near Distance collection. In 2022, he exhibited at Leon Gallery International with a solo show.
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Credits
Artwork: Modeka Art, Empty Scholar
Jove holds a degree in Journalism and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Philosophy at the University of the Philippines–Diliman. She has flair for in-depth, interview-driven stories that explore politics and culture, shaped by her background in national broadsheets.
When she’s not on assignment, Jove spends her days painting, sipping lemonade, and walking her dog, Jupiter. She can often be seen in Escolta with a film camera in hand, browsing novelty shops in search of rare memorabilia. For leads, reach her at Jove@tatlerphilippines.com.
