Full Circle, fully loaded.

Exactly a week ago, April 13 2010, I was invited to the Opening Night of the new exhibit of the Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza Makati City. The exhibit was entitled Full Circle: Creativity Moving Through Generations, an exhibit that espouses to raise the question whether artistic talent is acquired by nature or nurture.

It featured outstanding works from top Tsinoy artists of various generations. Among the few families featured in Full Circle, I was deeply moved by the works of Mark Lewis Higgins, son of Philippine fashion icon Salvacion Lim Higgins, also known in the industry as Slims; and by Michelline, Beatrix and Maxine Syjuco, daughters of conceptual artists, Cesare and Jean Syjuco.

(Photo above: Me in pink floral dress catching up with long time unseen friend, performance artist and painter, Eghai Roxas.)

I got to talk to Mr. Higgins for a short while and I managed to ask him a few questions regarding his work, particularly the artworks below (clothes on mannequin are from Slims collection--look at that dress and bolero on the left!).

MLH: I think that the demarcations of what is "east" and what is "west" isn't that clear. I think from an aesthetic point of view, the goal (of my collection) Crossing Boundaries is to show that (the "east" and "west") can be combined; while from an intellectual point of view, the goal is to have viewers like you think about the past.

MLH: My mom inspired me because as you can see with her designs for the terno (as seen on photo above), you can see the combination of local Filipino flavor with the aesthetic savor of French fashion. My mom disciplined but never dictated. She always told me, I have talent, I should go where my talent would take me.

MLH: When it came to my costume designs, when I did designs for the characters of The Chronicles of Narnia, I explained how much I wanted the costumes to not just be costumes. You can see with the details of the robes and even the hair pieces and accessories that there's a story behind each of the character's costumes alone. It manifests a little of the character's distinct personality as it is infused with the rich culture of the Eastern and even Western history.

...

Compared to the "intellectual" course Higgins' works encouraged, the Syjuco family's section provided a different trip. It was a more intrapersonal discourse, emotional and thought provoking. Impressive, eye-candy installations even, the Syjuco family's exhibit tickled more than my sense, it sent a shock of electricity to my heart.

One of the younger Syjucos, Maxine, candidly shared some of her insights regarding art, the creative process and of course, women--the recurring symbolized image of the pieces she exhibited for Full Circle.

(I went to the exhibit with friends Lilia Cornelio and Elaine Tan. Look closely on the photo above, the lady in white is Lilia, hello Dada ♥)

MS: I took a poem of mine and I imagined what it would look like if you can actually see the words turn into objects. (To read some of Maxine's poems, visit her site here.)

Maybe it's my love for women, for drama, for moving words and movement with words, and for flowers that made me want to stay forever in front to this beautiful wall (photo below). It is the visual representation of an original Maxine Syjuco poem which made me think of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince and his one and only rose, and of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. The work below is from Ms. Syjuco's first solo exhibit held last year.

From Words to Pictures
MS: For me the creative process is all the same because when I write I use my hands, when I make visual art right now, what I do is start with my hands because I photograph my fingers. I begin by doing performative acts with my fingers then I think of a way to present them in a more complex manner.

On women
MS: I used flowers because flowers, roses, are always used as symbols of romance, femininity and of being a woman. A lot of my works speak of women. It's about how people always think women are gentle and soft but we do get hurt and when we do get hurt it really is like hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned.

Open Heart Surgery
MS: For me it's always just about putting your heart into it (the creative process). I don't conceptualize what it would look like from the start. I enter the process with an open heart so (the piece is moved by) an active emotion and hopefully when people see my works they feel something.

MS: My favorite would have to be The Crib. I love Philosophy and existential thought. At that time, I was questioning, why is it that when we're infants we don't remember anything? Who is erasing them? What if it's because we are all born evil and our memories are actually evil?

(Want to know what this beautiful poet has to say about wellness? Visit this link.)

From a list of quotes from the book The Little Prince:
"People where you live," the little prince said, "grow five thousand roses in one garden... yet
they don't find what they're looking for..."
"They don't find it," I answered.
"And yet what they're looking for could be found in a single rose, or a little water..."

-K-

The Full Circle exhibit will run from April 13, 2010 to June 30, 2010. Please visit and share your experience, let me know where your heart would take you.

Photos by Lilia Cornelio. Here's a link to what she has to say about the exhibit.