Katya Angara: ‘Artist of the soil’
Katya Angara, whose first mentors were her parents, the late Sen. Edgardo J. Angara and Gloria M. Angara, has put her convictions on paper — literally.
The third child of the Angaras, the London-schooled Katya (she completed her honors degree in Culture, Criticism and Curation at the Central Saint Martins at the top of her class, summa cum laude) recently had a solo exhibit at the Crucible Gallery: Dendrophilia, which literally means “love of trees.”
“I find my wherewithal in the very substance of life itself. I am in awe of the beauty and savagery of the natural world,” explains Katya. “That’s why I keep a garden, for consolation and grounding. There are things in the soil that make you feel connected. I consider myself an ‘artist of the soil,’ an expression that I created; I believe that an artist must look outside as much as inside.”
Katya, who has a 13-year-old daughter Allegra Rose, grew up in a home fertile for lush creative pursuits..
“I come from a family of readers, and my parents had a large library where I would devour whatever piqued my interest: National Geographic magazines, illustrated fairy tales, world history and mythology books, old encyclopedia, English children’s books, comic books, and seemingly infinite narratives on paper. As a small child, I was introduced by my parents to sketchbooks and drawing materials. I fell in love with the materials and the process.”
Fairy tales, comic books and cartoon characters were the wellspring of her creativity.
“I first learned how to draw by copying my favorite fairy tale, comic book and cartoon characters, and the vast imaginary worlds they lived in. Eventually this evolved into me drawing my own fully fleshed out characters, creating the smallest details down to their personalities and relationships, even their style and fashion sense. I was too young to fully comprehend what I was doing, but I was in it for the unadulterated joy of seeing my art come to life by my own hands. And this childlike joy is something I strive for in my adult artistic life.”
But her life, privileged as it is, has not always been out of a storybook.
Second chances, rebirth and new beginnings may well be the imagery in her self-portrait.
“I was an odd and solitary child, and I found companionship in my art,” Katya recalls. “I discovered a personal language, which could fully express my rich inner life. So every time I draw, it is a rite of passage for me, the catharsis of coming to terms with my own strangeness.”
Katya says her twenties and thirties were marked by a private struggle with mental illness, and a pause.
“I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder during my university years, and in later years I was diagnosed with adult autism with characteristics of ADHD. I was highly aware of my eccentricities since childhood, but me knowing the root cause was the catalyst I needed to break the mental chains holding me back from continuing my artistic journey…It became worse after my father died. I continued masking in order to have some semblance of functioning ‘normally’ when in reality, I was slowly coming apart at the seams. I couldn’t make art the way I wanted to.”
Art was a cure, but it wasn’t instant.
“I have been fortunate to have had the most precious artistic mentors throughout my life: Junyee, the original shaman and ‘Father of Installation Art’ in the Philippines, and a nurturing second father to me; the irrepressible Sari Ortiga of the esteemed Crucible Gallery; and visual artist and sculptor du jour Jinggoy Buensuceso. But the turning point was when I met my partner, Stephen Lu, who is a brilliant rock musician and front man of The Rizal Underground and the Rockoustic Blues Experiment. He brought me out of a dark place and helped me to rise above myself. I like to think my late father sent him to me; when one love leaves, another love returns.”
Alongside this, Katya devoured materials on Stoic philosophy, psychology, comic books, novels.
“When you look illness in the face and call it by its true name, you are no longer a slave to it. I have tamed my demons.”
“My art is an expression of how I make sense of an often ugly world, and to understand my place as a fulcrum of all existence.
“Someone once told me that they saw sadness in my work. I suppose it’s there because it’s me reflecting on the fleeting nature of life,” shares Katya. “But it’s this very impermanence that gives beauty and value to our lives. I am terribly fond of illustrating plants, birds, bugs and beasts, they all know how to live their simple and savage lives. We can learn from them. And that’s why I like modest things, like paper. Too often we forget that they come from trees, and vellum or parchment used to be made from animal skins or membranes. We sacrifice nature to make art, so I thought it somewhat poetic to be able to do what books do — and yes I’m a bibliophile — give paper a second life imbued with dignity, not just an object to be burnt and discarded.”
What inspired her most recent exhibit Dendrophilia?
“The mixed media work and assemblages I do now are a natural progression from my preference for black and white illustration and photography. This technique of combining different media is the result of curious thirst and fertile boredom. Dissatisfaction is the artist’s friend, it drives you to create inventive ways to say something that’s been regurgitated time and again in our post-postmodern world.
“There’s a Japanese concept called ‘Ma,’ meaning an interval in time and space where things grow. This is quintessential as a theme in my work but also for my sanity. It’s when I can tune out the mental static by putting on music. I read. I garden. Then I write it down when I feel, see, hear, and taste something beautiful. Productivity and ‘busyness’ are highly overrated. I don’t plan every small detail, that would be boring. I can’t plan these things, I just do the work and let the muse call to me.”
“The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche coined the term amor fati, love your fate. To me this means living in the present moment and choosing to live a full life with the cards that you’ve been dealt.”
Katya was radiant during her exhibit, her proud family with her. Her fate loves her, too.
You may e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.
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