FEATURE: You don’t want to break these bottles

The cognac maison Hennessy is always deeply engrossed in the culture of its markets around the world, but it is here in the Philippines that, for the first time, they are collaborating with its market’s local artists.

“Hennessy has a legacy of collaborations with internationally renowned artists and we believe Filipino artists have the talent to be at par with these artists. We thought, ‘If only the rest of the world could see them,’” Moët Hennessy Philippines managing director Olga Azarcon says of The RGB Live Colors Exhibit by Hennessy V.S.O.P. Privilège, a partnership with internationally-renowned neo-graffiti artist Egg Fiasco and 18 contemporary visual artists under urban art purveyor Secret Fresh Gallery. Each artist created artwork as a tribute to the 2016 limited edition V.S.O.P Privilège. Designed by Milan-based design duo Italian Francesco Rugi and Colombian Silvia Quintanilla, collectively called Carnovsky, the limited-edition V.S.O.P Privilège is a sleek purple bottle bearing a label with their signature Red, Green and Blue overlay (RGB) concept.

Secret Fresh Gallery owner Big Boy Cheng reveals the selection process with Azarcon and Michelle Cu Unjieng: “We picked our best artists who match the colors of Carnovsky. At first, the idea was to get one, but we couldn’t just pick one, so the selection grew from there.”

Together with Fiasco are Epjay Pacheco, Bjorn Calleja, Froilan Calayag, Jayjay Zamoranos, Yeo Kaa, Lynyrd Paras, Ronson Culibrina, Keb Cerda, Johanna Helmuth, Jan Errol Orbida a.k.a. Chill, Dennis Bato, John Marin, Dale Erispe, Max Balatbat, Luis Lorenzana, Nemo Aguila, Christian Tamondong and Yani Unsana, all celebrating the joyous spirit of libation through urban imagery, depicted in reds, greens and blues, each layer revealed when viewed through special lenses.

Here’s the catch: the collection is already sold out. “I didn’t even get a chance to at least reserve one to send to the LVMH principals in Paris!” Azarcon shares. Secret Fresh’s top collectors, also Hennessy connoisseurs, bought everything moments before the gallery was unveiled to the public. Supreme caught up with Fiasco, the man of the hour.

 SUPREME: What was the thought process behind your take on Carnovsky’s limited-edition V.S.O.P Privilège?

EGG FIASCO: When I think of Hennessy, I think of vintage, its heritage, the classics, so I referenced old masters like Michelangelo’s masterpiece “David” from the Renaissance period but in a modern technique and medium to contrast it and bring it to the present.

Procrastination — which is how I think of what to do — takes a month. Execution is a week or five days, five hours a day. I hate painting too long. I change my mind all the time so I have to make it quick. I had to understand my personality to get this routine. I always use water-based paint because it dries quickly. With graffiti, it’s spray paint, an immediate medium. Kasi mainipin ako, it works for me.

You had to work with Carnovsky’s signature use of red, green and blue overlays, but green is a color that we don’t see much in your work. How did you go about it?

I’m not comfortable painting in the color green. Here, I used yellow green. I used my own palette, which is similar to theirs, but it’s still me. Whatever my subject matter, my color palette is my identity. I didn’t follow Carnovsky’s transparency. They are graphic artists. Because what I do is made by hand, the approach is different. They are detail-oriented, too but sila, sobra.

What is your relationship with Hennessy cognac?

I started drinking Hennessy after college, when I could afford it. I always saw it as a luxury and a reward. I prefer it neat and on the rocks and I sip it leisurely. I work every day in the studio. When I drink too much, I hate myself the next day because I lose the entire day. Being an artist can be a curse because you get restless and when your body is useless, you can’t act on your thoughts. You don’t become productive. My art makes me happy so I take care of it. Drinking has a celebratory meaning to me so I drink after, when the job is done, like now.

You are a fine arts student who made a name for yourself as a graffiti artist. What does this return to the canvas mean to you?

I’m preparing for my one-man show this November at Secret Fresh Gallery in San Juan. I’m a fine arts student, but I didn’t graduate, di ako nakilala doing paintings. Nakilala ako doing graffiti, the illegal stuff with an underground community. Big Boy literally picked me up from the streets. He gave me materials to paint. Now I’m older, I’m trying to get serious. When I do graffiti, I paint monkeys, which means I’m having fun, relaxed, just chillin’. On the canvas, I’m serious. Painting was my first love. This project made me go back to it. I want my one-man show to be big with small details. What I did for Hennessy is a peek into my one-man show, but it won’t be dead center and it’ll be more playful.

* * *

The 2016 limited-edition V.S.O.P Privilège cognac by Carnovsky is available at all S&R Supermarkets. Follow Hennessy Philippines at @hennessyph.