+Pyramid with Maria Taniguchi and Bea Camacho

+Pyramid Maria Taniguchi/Bea Camacho

SHOWING MARCH 30(wed), APRIL 1(fri) & 2(sat), 2011, BAR OPENS 7PM-11PM

Organizational systems may provoke interests or obsessions. Cultural or historical documentation can be a source of curiosity or intrigue. Our society is more keen on didactic representation yet, as individuals, we also recognize that each person’s perception of the world relies on his or her experience and memories. There is a paradox of the existence of documented objects much like Roland Barthes’ “Camera Lucida,” or Hiroshi Sugimoto’s work on the “Dioramas,” where through appropriate lighting, the recreation of an animal in a small part of its natural environment that usually includes some sort of narrative tension adds a bit of drama to the scene. We live in a society in which the private is consumed regularly in the public. The camera lens/ or the work of an artist reverses the course of things, as we are lead to the concept of “Photographic Ecstasy."

Maria Taniguchi’s video entitled, Infinity Island is a project that was an undertaking filmed in animal enclosures at the Manila Zoo. The video of animals filmed in their surrounding environment at the zoo act as a bubble of time and space, whose natural set become a potent source of appropriation. Bea Camacho’s project is based on the collection of comparative zoology at the Harvard Museum of Natural History where she focuses on the museum’s existing exhibits and explores the notions of display and representation. This work addresses issues of documentation, archiving and historical narrative.

+Pyramid is the sixth and last installment of The Ephemera of Disposable Goods, a program of Green Papaya resident curator Lian Ladia which aims to present a series of collaborations between two artists of similar or dissimilar genres investigating projects based on context of time/place, relational works or encounters.

Bea Camacho (b. 1983, Manila, Philippines) is a visual artist who received her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Studio Art with summa cum laude honors from Harvard University, where she was awarded the Albert Alcalay Prize for Outstanding work in Studio Art and the David McCord Prize for Achievement in the Arts. Her work has been shown in several institutions, including the National Museum of the Philippines, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Hong Kong Cultural Center, Kyoto Art Center, Triennale di Milano Design Museum and Tate Modern.

Maria Taniguchi (b.1981, Dumaguete, Philippines) received her BFA in Sculpture at the University of the Philippines, and she completed her MFA in Art Practice at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2009. She has worked with painting, sculpture, and video around examining the relationship between abstraction and information. Her works have been shown at Primo Marella Milano, Next Wave Festival 2010 Melbourne, No Soul for Sale at Tate Modern, FormContent London, Lopez Museum Manila, Green Papaya Art Projects Manila, and Osage Gallery Shanghai. Taniguchi lives and works between London and Manila. Her solo show, “Echo Studies” is currently being exhibited at the University of the Philippines, Vargas Museum from March 30 until May 28, 2011.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This would not have been possible without the support of Susan Gibb, Chin Patel, Kiri Dalena and Marti Magsanoc. Thank you!