TELL me why should I
complete you when I can’t even complete myself.
They fill the room with poetry ¬– these intricate honeycombs
with grained hexagon faces, tessellating and multiplying, casting delicate yet
sharp-edged shadows on the walls.
“I am” reads the nameplate under one of the
pieces, featuring the same complex pattern but with charred blocks jutting out
from amongst the untarnished wood. “I am but still I can” has several jagged
ends and pointed edges, while concrete faces fill black spaces in “One should
be, but one is always enough.”
These awe-inspiring pieces are the works of the 25-year-old Antinqueño Bryan Liao, making up his first solo show entitled “Aggregate Abundances” on display at the Cinematheque Iloilo.
“The inspiration comes from the formation of a
honeycomb,” shares Bryan. “Being pwede siya ma-collect geometrically, pwede
siya ma-tesselate.”
“It’s
about perspective. It’s about collecting, and adding up each piece, hindi siya
individual, it’s about how they connect to each other in a way nga hindi siya
alone. It’s about collectively looking at the bigger picture, not just focusing
on yourself.”
Encouraged by his friends to delve
deeper into his art and woodcraft, and urged by Ilonggo art veteran Rock Drilon
to mount a solo show, Bryan took 5 months to complete his masterpieces – eight
multi-faceted wooden sculptures that are nothing short of visual poetry.
“Each underwent the same process of assembly, but is more identified with each block that comprises them. Looking closely, individual pieces form and add up to create the whole of the hexagonal piece, portraying also the implications of Aggregate Abundances. [Each] unique individual who has unique attributes, unique experiences and unique flaws,” shares Bryan in his artist statement.
“I
am aggregately abundant” is the most varied and arguably most “flawed” piece in
the installation with blunt pieces of glass, concrete, charred wood, and opaque
crystals disrupting honeycomb’s otherwise calm surface – but in Aggregate
Abundances these faults are not a
piece’s downfall, they’re what make it more beautiful to stand out.
“Surely, I am broken, surely I have pieces in me missing, pieces in me not enough, less than I am, but every part of me makes me a whole. It’s about accepting one’s flaws, being imperfect but owning it,” muses Bryan about “I am aggregately abundant”.
“These
‘flaws’ do not put the person at a disadvantage, but confirms and reaffirms
one’s [true] self. These unique qualities, no matter how eccentric or how
seemingly negative, contribute to creating the pieces which you see. They make
up the whole, and while the whole is completed, the individual in return, is
provided a sense of belongingness, a place in community,” he adds.
But most eye-catching is “Not because,
but in the very least” rendered in sparkling gold, glowing and reflecting light
off its gilded edges. “I am not because I’m entitled, not because I’m golden, not
because I’m charred, but in the very least I am,” explains Bryan of the piece.
A management and marketing graduate
from Central Philippine University, he sees the show and his craft as a passion
project, finding free time from his day job managing a business to
conceptualize and create these intricate pieces of art. Bryan is also part of
the social enterprise Gugma Weaves, empowering hablon weavers from Dueñas and
bolstering their livelihood, all the while contributing to the reemergence and
awareness of the local textile, especially to Ilonggo youth.
In Aggregate Abundances, Bryan speaks
about looking into ourselves, not to find faults and flaws, but to see how we
can give back to the greater whole, to contribute to something bigger than all
of us.
“Overall, Aggregate Abundances suggest that there is humble abundance despite such shortcomings, such blemish. Every individual - be it with or without blemish - contributes to the abundance of the whole. One shouldn't be discounted despite such humble benefaction. The whole shouldn't be discounted due to its faults,” the artist shares of his vision.
“It
should be viewed in abundance and positivity and not what is lacking, the whole
is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s about individuality, being yourself,
casting a different shadow, at the same time creating something bigger than
ourselves,” concludes Bryan.
I stepped into the exhibit thinking
selfishly “tell me, why should I complete you when I can’t even complete
myself?” and left genuinely questioning myself, “how can me and my flaws
contribute to the greater whole?” – affected by the visual poetry of Bryan
Liao.
