Christopher Zamora: Quicksand
Republikha Art Gallery
15 June 2011
A tool ceases to be one the moment it morphs into a lifestyle. It begins to have an essence of its own. It breathes. It thinks. And then it consumes.
Christopher Zamora reveals the unquestioned dominance of technology over our collective psyche in his upcoming solo show "Quicksand" opening at Republikha Gallery, on Wednesday, June 15 at 6 pm. His canvas transcends a subculture conceived by an illusory will to connect and be part of something bigger than the individual. Zamora's art exposes the self-defeating dependence on "having," as a product of diminishing one's "being."
Zamora's work delves into the minds of the very real and living people simply called by technology pimps as "target demographics." Raw emotions that were once channeled through actual interaction with more raw emotions are filtered by the entanglements of fiber optic lines, wireless networks, and the evolving boob tube. Reality is continually modified and re-modified with the introduction of the eternal concept of "upgrades," further enslaving the fragility of the youth's need for self-determination. What is left is a landscape of blurred purposes – a barren dessert of plastic, microchips, lenses, shiny discs, keyboards, touch screens, and the organic ether of a lost generation's dreams.
A silent paradox is the ultimate portrait of this artist's theme. Aired are contradictions between the claimed benefits of "making the globe smaller" and the actual fruits of depriving a generation or more of the reality that is not virtual. This unreal reality is then reinforced by the willingness of indolent minds to not discern between purpose and consequences. And as the machine enslaves the acquiescing consciousness, a self-sustaining cycle of blind adherence prevails.
Zamora has carved his name in contemporary art through his solo exhibits including Sorrowful Mysteries (Project Space Pilipinas) and Infectious (West Gallery) in 2009, Silip (Boston Gallery) in 2005 and Everybody Wants to Feel Better (Kulay Diwa Art Galleries) in 2003.
He has also participated in numerous notable exhibitions here and abroad including We Was There (Yuchengco Museum, Manila) 2011, Yeosu International Art Festival (Yeosu City, Korea), Art Triangle (Soka Gakkai, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Reflections (Bupyeong Art Center, Incheon, Korea), Studio Parade (Incheon Art Platform, Incheon, Korea), Media Concert 'Love' (Topohous Art Gallery, Seoul) in 2010, Tenggara: Recent Paintings from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines (Novas Gallery, London), Plastic Syndrome (Art Space Plastic, Incheon, Korea) in 2009, 2nd Hand Smoke (Cultural Center of the Philippines) in 2006, Buklod (Kulay Diwa Art Galleries, Manila) in 2003, and EMO (Boston Gallery, Manila) in 2001. His works had been part of an ensemble of art pieces presented in Art Beijing in 2008 and Daegu Art Fair in 2010. Zamora was artist-in-residence at Project Space Pilipinas in 2008, Neo-Emerging Artist Residency (NEAR Seoul) in 2009, International Artist Studio Program, IASK Goyang National Art Studio, Korea in 2010. He is currently taking part in the Southeast Asian Art Group Exchange Residency (SAAGER), an exchange residency among artists from Kuala Lumpur, Yogjakarta, and Manila.
