Art Verité Gallery

Born in Romblon in 1988, Jonathan Madeja is a self-taught artist inspired by his relationship with the sea. Before pursuing art, he was a fisherman on the small island of Alad, Romblon who later migrated to different parts of Metro Manila for sales and factory work. Presently, he enjoys creating two-dimensional works based on self-portraits using ink, oil, and acrylic. Taking inspiration from his personal experiences, many of his works of art use portraiture and imagery from the sea to speak on contemporary social and class-based issues. His work has been exhibited broadly in various art spaces in the Philippines and beyond including Art Cube Gallery in Makati, Lab Art Project in Antipolo City, and Art Break in Dasmariñas, Cavite as well as Art Jakarta in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2018 and 2019, he was a Top 20 finalist for Manila Bulletin Sketch Fest. He was also selected as a semifinalist for Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) in 2017. He graduated from the mentorship program at Linangan Art Residency in 2020 after which he presented his first solo exhibition at Art Cube Gallery titled Banwa in 2021.

Madeja titles his fourth solo exhibition Dayo to embrace the name thrown at him from his past. Dayo which translates to a traveler, a visitor, a stranger, a foreigner, or an alien is used to mark those who do not belong. As a fisherman from Romblon province, Madeja first experienced being called dayo when he left the remote island of Alad, Romblon to work in the metropolitan city of Manila. Having felt as though he was not accepted for who he was, he learned to adapt to the city’s different languages, customs, and practices. To be named dayo is the reality for many people, not only for those moving from the provinces to the city like Madeja but also for Overseas Filipino Workers living abroad and others who find themselves in a strange place.

Madeja’s new body of work invites the concept of dayo as part of building one’s character. A recurring character in his work holds a sagwan (an oar), which gives the impression of directionality. In this sense, to be dayo means you know where you are from and where you are going. Made through scribbling with ballpoint pen and ink on canvas, each of the works in his solo show expresses the slow process of adaptation as dayo. It is an intentional and meticulous process of absorbing what is new. Like a fish swimming in foreign waters, dayo builds the strength to live on.

Written by Nicolei Buendia Gupit