Ganta | Diokno Pasilan

Ganta
Diokno Pasilan
20 March-20 April 2013
GF Lobby and West Wing Gallery

The UP Vargas Museum opens Diokno Pasilan’s Ganta on Wednesday, 20 March 2013, 4:00 PM, at the Ground Floor Lobby and West Wing Gallery.

A word referring to an act of measuring or signifying a quantity, the title Ganta derives from Pasilan’s appropriation of a local device used to gauge the volume of grain. In this exhibition, the artist transforms the cube-like form of the gantangan into lightboxes evincing images of indigenous houses. These glowing cubes become modules arranged in an installation revealing the artist’s engagement with the material culture of various locales he inhabits.

Kinalawang Larawan, 2013, Iron dust on archival paper, 45″ x 45″

Recent and new works in the exhibition enrich the metaphors he explores in his art practice about people and communities, with portraits of the elderly that vividly capture precarious conditions as well as endurance, and sculptures depicting organic and abstract forms. In this entire assemblage of works, the artist weaves stories and narratives, responds to local conditions, and plays the role of a visitor who is neither distant nor alien from his subjects. This exhibition brings together an assortment of objects and images that inspire the artist’s practice.

It also features a collaborative performance with fellow migrant artist in Australia, Martin Heine.

Diokno Pasilan (b. 1963) lives and works in the Philippines and Australia. He received a Diploma of Fine Arts from the Western Australian School of Art, Design & Media in 2000. He was also one of the founding members of the artist-run space Kurb Gallery in Perth. His art production includes painting, installation, video, performance, and music. He was involved in the musical groups Asin and Pinikpikan.

The exhibition is open for viewing until 20 April.

For more information, please contact Vargas Museum at (+632) 928-1927 (direct line), (+632) 981-8500 loc. 4024 (UP trunkline), (+632) 928-1925 (fax) or send an e-mail to vargasmuseum@gmail.com. You may also check our website at http://vargasmuseum.upd.edu.ph or like us at www.facebook.com/vargasmuseum.upd.