Incarnate, to become flesh.
I read a book this summer that foretells the end of the world in 2012. Resembling a work of science fiction, it read like the sequel to the Star Wars Trilogy yet to be written by Lucas. The most vivid visual I took from the book was reincarnation crosses life forms. Plants can become animals, animals can become humans, humans can become plants, and so on— all living beings are equal on this earth in this way.
In school some twenty years ago, I would imagine what animal this or that person was. My friends and I would ask each other this question. So my best friend decided she was a dolphin, and myself, a lion. Over the years, I have met a few trees and vines, horses and rats. So the visual from summer reading, made complete sense.
What if reincarnations could mix forms: to have the body of a human but the head of a forest fern, or the body of a lion but the head of a hawk? Greek mythology is filled with these hybrid creatures, as stand-ins for morality and mortality tales. The difference between the summer reading and the Greeks is that in the latter, men were ruled and were the playthings of the gods and the demigods.
In King Arthur’s story, as a boy called Wot, the wizard Merlin would turn the future king into a bird, an owl, so he could fly through the night. Incredible freedom and unforgettable thrill, to fly and see in the dark! This transformation, a temporary incarnation, was a taste of the impossible. The now King Arthur tells this fantastic story to his wife Guinevere because there are far more amazing things than to be King.
This cast of characters of my fantasy presented in INCARNATE, are mixed form rebirths, hybrids that perhaps exist in more places than my imagination. They are named after the night sky constellations and other heavenly bodies; which incidentally, were named after Greek mythologies. So in my microgalaxy, the circle comes around.
*This is Isa Lorenzo’s 6th exhibition. Incarnate by Isa Lorenzo opens on September 28, Wednesday at silverlens.
The show runs simultaneously with Cloud Country by Patricia Perez Eustaquio, and Glutted Vertebrates by Tatong Recheta Torres in 20SQUARE. See you there!
In conjunction with this show, there will be a performance on October 15, Saturday, 4-6pm at silverlens. Details to follow.
To RSVP, please call 8160044 or email manage@silverlensphoto.com. For inquiries, contact Silverlens Gallery at 2/F YMC Bldg. II, 2320 Pasong Tamo Ext, Makati, 816-0044, 0917-5874011, or manage@silverlensphoto.com. Gallery hours are Monday to Friday 10am–7pm and Saturdays 1–6pm.www.silverlensphoto.com / slab.silverlensphoto.com/ www.facebook.com/slgalleries
Words by Isa Lorenzo; Image: Isa Lorenzo, Phoenix Dextra, 2011
