Kidlat, which means "lightning bolt" in the Visayan dialect, was born in Cebu in 1981. After dropping out of art school, he went on to pursue his passion for art by channeling them to a bigger venue - the streets. As one of the founders of two of Cebu's most prolific street art groups, the Ubec Crew and the Junks Collective, Kidlat is recognized as one of the go-to conceptual artists in the scene. His clever works, including different formats such as painting, sculptures, ready-made artworks, and installations, play with subjects in minimalism, highlighting ironies and glorifying typicalities.
Kidlat declares, "Art is so much bigger than the artist. Mine has a purpose and that purpose is for the masses." According to him, "Retaso" is a collection of salvaged stories and articulated clichés from his daily battles within and around his environment. He aims to highlight how, through our common observations, experiences, and lessons, we as a people are interconnected as we cope with different situations on different grounds.
Kidlat says, "My exhibit concept springs from the idea that our work and accomplishments are only but a speck of who we really are. And because of our daily engagements, we realize our common necessities as human beings, and create a powerful link among ourselves."
Kidlat is convinced that this link that connects us is made up of the mundane things in our lives that we disregard and overlook, which lead to creating the bigger parts of us. He adds that we are made up of our own clichés.
As an artist who possesses the ability to create, he aims to present the stories he has encountered in his life as his own in "Retaso."