Cover Nunoy Van Den Burgh performs his poignant choreography work, ‘iDentity’, for this year’s edition of ‘The Gallery’ by Nude Floor, touching on the theme of self-discovery (Photo: Gab Villareal)
Nunoy Van Den Burgh performs his poignant choreography work, ‘iDentity’, for this year’s edition of ‘The Gallery’ by Nude Floor, touching on the theme of self-discovery (Photo: Gab Villareal)
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Titled ‘Temporality: Contours of the Present’, this year’s edition of ‘The Gallery’ explores time’s fluidity where people’s memories and experiences intersect dynamically
The opening weekend of Nude Floor’s The Gallery: Temporality—Contours of the Present showcased performances that elevated the experience with this year’s curated selection of artworks. Held on March 2 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater, the event transformed the space into a 360-degree performance arena where audiences were surrounded by a large-scale painting, art installations, movement, and sound—all examining and exploring the fleeting essence of time.
With matinee and gala performances during its opening, audiences engaged in this interesting dialogue with time, its speed, depth, and fragility. Graced by esteemed art patrons, sponsors, and reputable personalities in the cultural and diplomatic circles, this year’s The Gallery was teeming with profound appreciation for innovative approaches to artistic storytelling. Art aficionados may still have a chance to see the installations as The Gallery runs until April 15.
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Above Besides the runway stage being performed on by dancers and choreographers, 2024 CCP Thirteen Artists Awards recipient Derek Tumala presented on it his masterpiece ‘Cascades’, a video mapping and live visuals work projected on mesh fabric. It features graphical abstract movements emulating the essence of dance, capturing the passage of time as a form of light.
Besides the runway stage being performed on by dancers and choreographers, 2024 CCP Thirteen Artists Awards recipient Derek Tumala presented on it his masterpiece ‘Cascades’, a video mapping and live visuals work projected on mesh fabric. It features graphical abstract movements emulating the essence of dance, capturing the passage of time as a form of light.
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Blurring the boundaries between art and experience, the opening night highlighted the intertwining of evocative visual compositions, dynamic movement pieces, and experimental soundscapes. For some, it might have been highly triggering as multidisciplinary works encapsulated them simultaneously. However, it was best experienced slowly, dedicating a moment of reflection for each work.
Audiences from varied demographics were encouraged to walk around the theatre space, which was draped in black and divided by three separate white blocks of stage areas. As they walked onto the accessible one—a vast runway-long stage—audiences found respite in Derek Tumala’s Cascades, a video mapping installation that transforms movement into shifting layers of digital landscapes. This immersive experience enveloped audiences on stage as well as those seated, who were mesmerised by how it bounced on the draped walls to show a dynamic interplay of light and dance.
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Above A kid from the audience marvels at Clarence Chun’s ‘Nobody Knows Why, Nobody Knows How, But You Are Standing Here With Me, Always Here With Me’, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 360 inches x 48 inches. It is an expansive panoramic hyper-pop abstracted landscape that speaks to capturing a moment in time within a liminal space.
A kid from the audience marvels at Clarence Chun’s ‘Nobody Knows Why, Nobody Knows How, But You Are Standing Here With Me, Always Here With Me’, 2025, acrylic on canvas, 360 inches x 48 inches. It is an expansive panoramic hyper-pop abstracted landscape that speaks to capturing a moment in time within a liminal space.
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Hanging like a backdrop for the stage was Clarence Chun’s panoramic landscape of suspended moments in liminality. Nobody Knows Why, Nobody Knows How, But You Are Standing Here With Me, Always Here With Me is an expansive panoramic acrylic on canvas work in hyper-pop style featuring abstractions of various moments occurring before and after the state of its subjects’ motion. In a way, this work provides context to the series of performative dances, which was the main highlight of the evening.
Meanwhile, one of the side wings of the theatre space was dedicated to the lightbox installation of Mano Gonzales. Titled The Sea So Deep, The Earth So Dark, this series of papers on lightboxes explores the fleeting nature of time, capturing the tension between movement and stillness. Through intricate perforations on dark surfaces, the images come alive when held against the light. For many, this section has become a breathing space as it invites spectators to meditate on transcience, a frozen moment suspended between past and future. With light as its key element, the installation seeks to blur the lines between presence and absence, permanence and impermanence.
These visual artworks will continue to be on display at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater until April 15.
Above Mano Gonzales stands before his thought-provoking installation, ‘The Sea so Deep, The Earth so Dark’, made of paper on lightbox.
Mano Gonzales stands before his thought-provoking installation, ‘The Sea so Deep, The Earth so Dark’, made of paper on lightbox.
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Above LIKE ANIMALS designing the soundscape of the evening marked with transformative art.
LIKE ANIMALS designing the soundscape of the evening marked with transformative art.
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Enveloping the whole space was LIKE ANIMALS’ psychedelic music. Titled Coalescence I and Twenty One Breaths at the Edge of a Mahogany Forest Volume II, the songs were sonic explorations blending ambient noise into orchestral hums, mirroring the cyclical nature of time.
Movement artist Shayna Cua, one of the great minds behind The Gallery by Nude Floor, described this year’s concept as “between fading and becoming, there is both loss and possibility”. Inviting audiences to pause, listen, and feel, the works showcased in this year’s edition altogether left a lingering imprint.
Above A performance of Adam Alonzo’s ‘HLANPTAS’.
Above Curtain call where all the performers from the various vignettes come together like pedestrians brushing past each other.
A performance of Adam Alonzo’s ‘HLANPTAS’.
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Above A performance of Caetlyn Watson’s ‘A Stain, An Echo’.
Above A riveting performance of Vince Mendoza’s ‘Hinay Sapul’.
A performance of Caetlyn Watson’s ‘A Stain, An Echo’.
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The series of performances that night was beyond mesmerising. Arranged according to a progression of intensity, it is also weaved by the central narrative of self-discovery and the nuanced aspects of our humanity against the pressure that comes with time’s evolution.
Gella Gonzales’s Pulse of Desire is a movement piece capturing the tension and urgency of longing, where desire stretches and collapses in fleeting waves. Caetlyn Watson’s A Stain, An Echo is a deeply personal reflection on love’s impact on time, where moments linger and reshape perception long after they pass. Vince Mendoza’s Hinay Sapul is a study of resilience and transformation, slowing time to reveal the depth of each rise and fall. Adam Alonzo’s HLANPTAS is in itself a journey through ambition and perseverance, tracing the passage of time as shaped by struggle and growth. Nunoy Van Den Burgh’s iDentity is a powerful exploration of self-discovery and transformation, creating space for visibility and redefinition. Lastly, Cua’s Between Fading and Becoming is a meditation on the ephemeral nature of human encounters, where moments dissolve yet leave a lasting imprint.
Some scenes from the opening of ‘The Gallery’ by Nude Floor
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Dedicated to fostering creative expression through collaborative and immersive experiences, Nude Floor provides a platform for artists to experiment and engage meaningfully with audiences. This multidisciplinary art and movement studio continues to push the boundaries of contemporary arts both visually and performatively.
Through its brainchild, The Gallery, Nude Floor aims to deepen audience engagement, expand collaborative opportunities, and evolve the dialogue surrounding art and movement.
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Credits
Photography: Gab Villareal
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.
For any leads, you may reach him through @franzsorillaiv on Instagram or franz@tatlerphilippines.com via email.
