Cultural Expressions for CHANGE

 

Expedition Self (on show in the gallery)

2024

21.5x16x21cm/8.25x6.25x8.5in (HxWxD)

Paper collage, acrylic on cement cast from mold

Take a trip to discover oneself – this is how people used travelling to explore the world and, at the same time, to understand, re-establish or find themselves.  In truth, to know who we are is to reinforce our identities within the community.  Today, more people are exploring alternatives to sharpen these senses in pursuit of the same goal.  

This paper collage and painted sculpture draws inspiration from Teatro del Mondo* by Aldo Rossi (1931-97). Dramas were held in this floating theatre amid journeys on the open sea. The architect used the discourse of travelling and stage to signify life’s journeys for his passengers. Whilst examining the duality of realism and fantasy through this toy-like theatre, one may redefine anchors of one’s own existence in order to project afresh into society.

 Beyond Venice, showboats like this could be found across continents - from the rivers of the US to the waterways in Asia.  They formed the sources of imagination, dialogues and convergence.

 

*Teatro del Mondo (Theatre of the World) was created for the Venice Architecture Biennale in 1980.  This moving theatre was later transported to Dubrovnik for the International Theatre Festival in the same year.  Through the play of collage and setting, this artwork seeks to open up mediums much needed for confluence of ideas and communications.

Many Lives of Load-bearing

Many Lives of Load-bearing

2025

15x16x37.5cm/6x6.3x14.8in (HxWxD)

Cement, steel nails, embroidery, fabric particles and acrylic.

They appear in groups and are seen in solitude to mark venerable gestures.

Columns rise, hold and perhaps falter.  They stand with resolve, are built for weight and endurance.  But an objective is not a promise.  Time weathers and purpose eludes with age.  A column's strength may have its fragility foretold.  This work examines the lives of columns as support and symbol - of vitality, permanence and their flickering existences.

To immerse within and let water take over our eyes: it can be poured onto the pod to glide through the crevices to anoint the columns.

Between Current and the Echo

 

Formed in 2004, the Z’otz* Collective is a multi-disciplinary trio composed of Nahum Flores, Erik Jerezano and Ilyana Martinez.  Of Latin American heritage, the artists merge drawing, painting, ceramics, and animation to create playful, storytelling-driven works that blend tradition with contemporary experimentation.  Over time, the collective has developed a unique communal process, passing works between members to build layered, evolving compositions.

It is exemplary that three individuals who can work together to achieve great artworks.  It reinforces the path that group works can be equally creative.

One drawing that I showed at the beginning with the title - Digesting the Developer’s Plan captured my attention.  Working on building design for years, I had a lot of mixed feeling towards property developers.  While they can be the bread and butter for architects, the money power they exercise can have damning effects on societies.

Order of display on this post:

[1] Digesting the Developer’s Plan, 2025, drawing

[2] Messenger’s Dynamic, 2020, drawing

[3] Between the Current and the Echo, 2025

[4] Animation by Z’otz* Collective

[5] Demographic Symphony, 2025 Mural

Pictures at an exhibition...

 

...in Woodstock Art Gallery, Ontario.  Some excellent works are shown and a few selected from Visual Elements 67 Juried Exhibition.

Kim Wilkie, Metaphysical Blooms, 2024, acrylic paint, 

embroidery yarn on canvas

Gwenda Dieleman, Weighted #1, 2024, collage: graphite drawing, 

paste paper

Lisa Gerrard, Enigma Finale, 2024, acrylic and 

extra heavy gel on canvas

Kim Douglas Harrison, Port Stanley Days, 2024, oil on wood panel

Laura Bydlowska, Blue Valley, 2025, printmaking collage, gouache, 

ink and wood carving on wood substrate

Michael Browse, Crossing, 2025, oil and cold wax medium on canvas

Johnnene Maddison, Grandma's Cellar, 2024, acrylic and 

collage on canvas

Myself, Many Lives of load-bearing, 2025, 

cement, steel nails, embroidery, fabric particles and acrylic paints

Concurrently, two separate exhibitions in the gallery are:

Lyn Carter, The Pinks, 2025, six digital screens with looped animations

Jacquie Poole, Present in the Moment, paintings and other mixed 

media works spanning his career of many years

Trajectory on the making of ...

 

Click on the above for the complete article by myself on thesecretdoor.ca.

Review from Vincent Moleveld of onlinegallery.art

 

For those who are interested in the above review of my artworks, please click on above.

Museo MODO - The Rules of the Game

 

The artworks form a series of rare and intense interactions with a group of persons suffering from mental problems.  The occasion-as-exhibition organized by Museo MODO, Mexico City has been an education to viewers like me.  The therapeutic activity demonstrates that Mexico has allocated resources and care to minority sectors like this.  The experience also casts a different shade to a worn image that this country may be portrayed from the outside.

The Rules of the Game – Ludic art of psychiatric patients in confinement from Mar 19 to Aug 24, 2025 at Museo del Objeto del Objeto, Mexico City.

Woodstock Art gallery, ON

 

Check out three exhibitions concurrently held in Woodstock Art Gallery, ON in July, 2025 and one with my most recent works - Many Lives of Load-bearing.  Click on the artwork to see more details.

Casa Luis Barragan

 

Tremendously sensuous, Casa Luis Barragan cannot be fully captured on camera though.  If there is ‘sexy’ architecture, surly this is among the best.  It is also one of the rare modern domestic buildings that are protected on the World Heritage list.

Gallery Visit, Mexico City

 

Amazing space inside Olivia Foundation, Mexico City with excellent contemporary paintings including those by Sabine Mortiz.

Music: Sly Sky by telecasted.

Visit

 

Exhibition Update

 

My latest work: Many Lives of Load-bearing is shown at Gallery 1313, Toronto from May 14-24.  Two outstanding photographic exhibitions are held there at the same time.  Come to see them if possible!

Many Lives of Load-bearing

 

Many Lives of Load-bearing

2025

15x16x37.5cm/6x6.3x14.8in (HxWxD)

Cement, steel nails, embroidery, fabric particles, acrylic paints and epoxy

They appear in groups and are seen in solitude to mark venerable gestures.

Columns rise, hold, and perhaps falter.  They stand with resolve, are built for weight and endurance.  But an objective is not a promise.  Time weathers and purpose eludes with age.  A column's strength may have its fragility foretold.  This work examines the lives of columns as support and symbol - of vitality, permanence, and their flickering existences.

To immense within and let water take over our eyes: it can be poured onto the pod and glide through the crevices to anoint the columns.

Link to my website here.