CONFLUENCE

JIM ORENCIO . JOVEN MANSIT

CONFLUENCE

Opening Thursday 29th January 2009 7 pm

The exhibition runs to Sunday 8th February 2009.

The enduring capacity of art to bridge nations surfaces anew with the exhibition CONFLUENCE. Past meets present in artistic concrescence as Filipino artists Jim Orencio and Joven Mansit use figurative paintings to depict the cultural concourse of Singapore and the Philippines, inspired by venerable chronicles of the nations’ histories.

Referencing notable Singaporean historical figures and using Filipino aesthetics to render his subjects afresh, Jim Orencio creates his layered collages much like the process of nation building that transformed Singapore from a small fishing village into one of the most diverse and successful city states of the world. The artist’s dynamic brushstrokes echo the vitality of a bygone era whose legacy remains tangible to this day. Citing ethnically divergent individual’s fundamental to the development of the Lion City with his palette of sepia hues and warm earth tones, Orencio pays homage to the pioneering efforts of those who envisioned Singapore to be the model metropolis that it is today.

Joven Mansit re-presents the images found in old colonial-era photo portraits of elite Filipinos taken inside the elaborate settings of photo studios, altering their compositions by adding, appropriating and substituting the images with others. These are not simply images of nostalgia and romanticized depictions of bygone days but documents reflecting the power relations of the colonial past. Joven’s Wind Vane series about the Galleon Trade depicts sails on the heads of the indios (natives), as if anticipating the western winds to move them. The Galleon Trade has been a symbol of affluence and abundance as it became the medium for rich economic and cultural exchange, but this series depicts it as probably the most oppressive phase of the colonial domination of the Philippines.

About the artists:

A senior member of the important Salingpusa art group, Jim Orencio graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in Diliman with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990. He was a Finalist in the Metrobank Foundation National Painting Competition in 1990 and 1993, and in the AAP-ECCA Semi-Annual Abstract Competition in 2006. In 2006, he was named Most Outstanding Visual Artist of Aklan, Philippines. Having exhibited in France and Papua New Guinea, as well as on innumerable occasions in the Philippines, Jim has already completed 13 solo exhibitions in his career.

Joven Mansit finished his Certificate of Fine Arts (major in Painting) at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts in Diliman, Quezon City in 2004. Mansit has been a consistent finalist in annual national art competitions. He was recognized as a 3rd placer and finalist in the oil and acrylic category of the 37th and 35th Shell National Student Art Competitions respectively. He has also been a finalist in the 17th and 18th PLDT-DPC National Painting Competitions. He recently held his first solo exhibition, Camera Obscura, in the Philippines last year.

Utterly Art Exhibition Space

(diagonally opposite the Sri Mariamman Temple, Pagoda St Exit)

229A South Bridge Road (2nd Level) Singapore 058778

Tel: 6226 2605 E-mail: utterlyart@pacific.net.sg

Mon-Sat 12 noon - 8 pm Sun 12 noon - 5.30 pm

Celebrate 40yrs of Singapore-Philippines diplomatic relations with Joven Mansit and Jim Orencio's CONFLUENCE - 29th January to 8th February 2009.