Jason Quibilan’s white light, white heat

Hejira.” “Heavy Weather.” A John Lee Hooker here, a John Denver there. R-Stew gallivanting in a gentlemanly hat. “The Dawn Live.”

If you’re going to get quagmired in a long photoshoot, might as well be mired in photographer Jason Quibilan’s Shutterspace studio in Katipunan where there are solid-state and tube amps, vintage speakers at hand, and vinyl LPs — from GNR (Guns N’ Roses) to H2O (Hall & Oates)— to be spun in between frames.

So when Quibilan decided to mount his first one-man exhibition of photographs titled “Aurals” — which opens tomorrow, 6 p.m., at The Crucible Gallery — he decided to use vacuum tubes as subjects. Yeah, those tubes that give tube amplifiers manufactured by brands such as McIntosh and Conrad Johnson not only a sci-fi, steampunk, Bladerunner-looking vibe, but also a warm, warm sound.

The photographs have to do with Quibilan’s fascination with how mechanical objects can produce the sweetest of aural experiences.

“It so happened that the actual devices that do that are in themselves interesting — visually,” he explains. “It’s a photographic challenge: the tubes reflect light, they’re small, but there are a lot of things happening in those spaces.”

Jason took photographs of vacuum tubes taken from amps from his old collection. Others he bought because of how funky they look (via eBay, etc.), others were gift from friends. Analog enthusiast Rene Rivo who runs MusicHaven in Parañaque even lent him a box of old tubes. 

“These photographs were originally never really intended for work or to be shown to a wider audience; they were for personal enjoyment only. People who bought the prints were audiophiles themselves. Alam nila kung saan ilalagay ‘yung photographs — sa ibabaw ng turntable.”

Rays of light: Photographs by Jason Quibilan

But at Art in the Park early this year, Jason was surprised that a lot of the people who bought the prints had no idea what the objects were in the first place. “I think it’s the sense of intrigue. Mukha silang mysterious objects. They must’ve thought they’re pictures of UFOs (laughs).”

So, how does Jason shoot those little bad boys? He takes a piece of acrylic glass, attaches the tube, and fires with his Mamiya 645DF.

Jason is a BA Film grad from UP Diliman. What he realized about himself (even when he was doing video projects in high school) was that he loved “the static image at the precise moment.” 

“I like framing stuff and letting things happen by themselves, ‘yan naging trip ko,” he explains.

His very first camera was an Olympus OM-1, which has since then become part of an arsenal of 400 or so cameras.

“I love shooting in black and white because it’s more intense. There are very few things in color that I think won’t be better in black and white — in terms of play of light, chiaroscuro…”

The man loves taking portraits. He tries to find out things about the subject beforehand but leaves a bit of mystery. “Usually my favorite shots are when the subject is not aware — the unguarded, in-between moments. To me, the portrait can’t be the perfect you.”

And those candid shots, they’re like warm visual recordings.

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Jason Quibilan’s “Aurals” opens tomorrow, 6 p.m., at The Crucible Gallery, fourth floor, SM Megamall A, Mandaluyong City. The show is on view until Oct. 11. For information, call Chari or Jun at 635-6061.