Art Verité Gallery

OVERSEE/R

Sprung from the idea of having a protector guarding and looking over a physical or abstract place, “The Oversee/r” takes a look at the constant and invisible presence of a sentinel. The four artists in this exhibition depict paintings that find consolation in protection. Here, a guardian is assigned to oversee different vital matters: territories, legacies, stories, time, stability, and sovereignty. What lies herein are what we deem important and worth protecting.

The loyalty found among tribes becomes the main focus of Daniel Aligaen’s work. A man looks over Aligaen’s illustration of a territory filled with geometrical shapes that form a labyrinth. The work suggests issues on fighting for territories amid the illusion of possession. 

Edrick Daniel’s mystical creature whose torso integrates with the trunk of a tree implies someone tasked to protect a legacy. However, the artist believes that like other things, even the greatest legacies in the world can be destroyed since destruction and endings are inevitable.

Jonas Eslao’s illustration of trees that seem to hover in a jungle is a metaphor of how trees have witnessed the formation of societies and civilizations. He notes that they are the keepers and wardens of stories; of time, if only they could talk. In myths, they are always mentioned with a hint of mysticism but in reality, practical benefits of trees give us life.

Renz Baluyot’s image of a rusty lighthouse suggests a proud but decaying mandate to sovereignty. As with themes of territorial disputes between China and the Philippines, which the artist had previously explored, his work for “The Oversee/r” finds itself representing the nationalistic pride, yet overtly defeated by the government’s complacent policies to take charge.