New art exhibit reflects on reflecting

MANILA, Philippines — When you look into the mirror, what do you see?

When you step into it, where do you find yourself? When you grip the mirror and examine it, what is behind it? When you break it, what happens?

These are the little individual interrogations on which members of the Neo-Angono Artists Collective embark for this exhibition. Loosely themed around the word "reflection," these works show the varied routes artists take in their individual ruminations, like scattered light exiting the prism’s surface.

Some revel in various qualities of light and reflection, yet there are many who step into the shadows, whether internal or external. Darkness makes it harder to see, but even under adequate illumination, one doesn’t always like what’s visible. Thus, some artists reflect things we fear: skeletons, carnivorous growths, the unnamed creatures that we find in our past, or in ourselves. Are they ghosts or monsters? Are they benevolent or violent? It may be difficult to gauge the truth from the distortion, the paranoia from the acuity.

For some, reflections are entry points to larger landscapes. They find imaginary cities in ruin, vast meadows of wildflowers, little pockets of Eden emerging from splotches of paint. (Perhaps reflection is a place, one we retreat to or even create if necessary.) Many find themselves entering the world of dreams, of impossibilities and improbabilities. Others dissolve into abstract movements, or gestures of ideal grace.

Meanwhile, some artists confront the many masks they wear. In various works, they dissect the roles that surfaces play, the surfaces of roles. Still other artists find, simply, themselves. They surface the spirit residing in bodies, orifices, limbs.

“The Mirror Cuts Both Ways” exhibit runs from May 26 to June 23 at Espacio Manila and Artphile Gallery.

In "The Mirror Cuts Both Ways," the presented works dwell on creations, the act of creation, on being created. Frailty and power are two sides of the same mirror. All of us, artist and viewer alike, are invited to contemplate — and, if or when possible, transcend.

Arturo Sanchez Jr, "Savage," acrylic and collage in clear cast resin.

Pabsie Martus, "3:00AM," oil and resin on canvas

Paul John Presado, "Betrayal of Public Trust," mixed media