CLAIMING A PIECE OF PARADISE AND FACEBOOK
APRIL 27 - MAY 28
Creative force Gilda Cordero Fernando returns to SLab as a visual artist with the show Claiming a Piece of Paradise and Facebook, which opens April 27, 2011. Presenting 41 new paintings made in the last two years,GCF, as she is known, accompanies each piece with a story. She has assembled for us a utopian topsy turvy world that integrates spiritual beliefs coming from different parts of the world with everyday Filipino life.
Through the paintings in the exhibition, she packs ideas about a better world, and a better life that we should be living. The icons that she uses come from here and there but somehow she is able to blend them inside a single frame.
The painting Wars of the Universe depicts religious wars, as well as other disputes found in mythological and natural worlds. There is also an ethnic Filipino who finds himself conflicted as he tries to save his identity from being engulfed by globalization. There are wars going on but GCF still depicts the world in bright colors; there is still hope. Judgmental mindsets based on cultural differences should be stopped. As in the world of immortals found in The Other Forces, she reminds us that there is really no distinction between an angel and a Buddha.
Hope is also evident on a personal scale. In the pieces Dragon Taming is an Art, Flying Lessons and River of Tears she encourages the viewer to let go of the past and the shackles that we are bound with by society. Instead, she urges viewers to trust their intuition. Gut feel is a better guide than making decisions based on the opinions of others—hindering personal growth.
In the series Facebook, we see the instinctual GCF and her creative process. All of the faces were invented; even the P-Noy face just came accidentally. The assortment of quirky characters play as witty observations on Philippine society. She admits to not being an active member of the social network herself; the use of the name “Facebook” is just her playful way of pointing out the uniqueness in everybody.
On one hand of the exhibit we find universal truths, while on the other, individual strengths. But this is not in conflict with the duality of the energies found in the artist herself. Between extremes, she flows. She is telling us that like her, we should just go and live life!
Words by Iris De Ocampo; Image: Gilda Cordero Fernando, Wars of the Universe (detail), 2011
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