MANILA, Philippines - It’s not every weekend you get to witness “a photo orgy narrative of everyday debauchery,” so might as well have a good gaze at it.
For the first time ever, photographer Otto Feraren (Otto.Bot/Otto Retardo/Fish Taco) and partner Meiday queen Mei Bastes team up to spruce up a two-part event at Big Sky Mind this Saturday, Nov. 26, at 8 p.m.
To be held at the café’s ground floor, Otto’s “Foto Retardo Show II” is a follow-up to his solo photo exhibit back in 2009. “I just wanted it to be somethin’ silly, true and easy to remember so I called it ‘Foto Retardo Show,’” says the 22-year-old lensman. “It’ll be like watching a film with no dialogue but with live scoring from the party below.”
As to how Otto got started, he says he used to see his dad carry a video camera when he was a kid. “Then when I was 14, I picked up one of those Pentax point-and-shoot cameras and I would just go out to gigs, shoot random people, and local bands,” says Otto. And while his favorite subjects fall under “food, architecture, steezy (style + easy) people, and everyday things,” Otto’s portfolio appears to be more animated, evocative, and decidedly groovy the second time around.
Downstairs, Mei’s Post-Acid Party is set to split the spotlight among eight bands: The Dorques, The Butchercons, The Strangeness, The Discoball, Twin Lobster, Sell Our Door, Bee Eyes, and Top Junk.
“It’s a little like Meiday but not quite, mainly because of the choice of the bands,” clarifies Mei, who thought his softest-spoken boyfriend could use a more up-and-coming lo-fi soundtrack for his second exhibit.
Otto, meanwhile, opts to leave a lot to the imagination, pulling off shrug after shrug, big smile after big smile. His photos need no elaboration anyway and it’d be retarded to think otherwise.
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The “Foto Retardo Show II” will run for two and a half weeks starting this Saturday, Nov. 26.