SHIFTING LIGHTS

SHIFTING LIGHTS
By Randy "Andoi" Solon

About the show:
In his 3rd one-man show, Randy “Andoi” Solon traverses deep into the heart of his emotions as an artist, and presents his canvas as a private memoir of his own personal struggles. “I had been through a lot lately,” Andoi recalls. “It almost came to a point that I was thinking about giving up the thing I love the most.” His paintings emanate a certain sense of drama; a piece of life’s depressing truth that we all can relate to, because suffering is the ultimate resolver of human existence. Pain is the inevitable scrap of reality that tells us that we are all human, with a heart so frail that fate’s little challenges could sometimes hurt too much. To be hurt is to feel alive. The artist translates this tragic thought of beauty onto his own canvases, creating a strong feeling of struggle that we all can relate to. It shows a small peephole into our inner selves, and what is actually happening inside. Figures are rendered inside a small room with a single window, suggesting an intimate mood of isolation and despair. And perhaps, this room is a box which exists inside all of us, a passive, undisturbed place where our minds retreat when all hope is lost. It’s where all our emotional tussles take place. Some fight back, striving hard enough for life’s continuation, while some just cannot resist anymore, eventually giving up and peacefully resting itself on an eased piece of wood where paintings used to be.

The light itself that is always present in Solon’s work is not just a technical element that illuminates the flawlessness of his perfected male anatomy. Indeed, it is more of a conceptual symbolization of hope. It is a general representation of a saviour, be it divine or human, which enters the inner space of the soul when life reaches a miserable downturn of events. According to the artist, the show is not about pain and devastation. It is actually about the struggle. It is the endless striving of man against the daily confrontations of life. “My works have always been biblical. I am deeply inspired by my faith with God. It’s what keeps me going. It’s actually the inner light that neutralizes all the anxieties and suffering that I have been going through,” Andoi confesses. Similar to the nature of his paintings, his whole creation is at the mercy of light, as we are all under God’s compassion and forgiveness. “Light can make or unmake my paintings. It doesn’t just control flatness of smoothness; it shows the true nature of things,” the artist says.

From the head of a decapitated Christian saint to a young man named Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection, this show is all about being human. It’s all about the play zone of light and darkness, and the inescapable fact that light shines stronger in the presence of darkness itself.

by : Dave Lock


About the artist:
Randy 'Andoi' Solon holds two degrees in the visual arts: a Bachelor of Fine Arts, major in Painting, at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, and a Certificate in Advertising from the Philippines Women's University in Manila. Solon is the recipient of numerous awards from national art competitions. He was the Grand Prize winner in the 2006-2007 PLDT-PDC Telephone Directory Cover 20th Visual Art National Competition for the oil on canvas work entitled Kabataan, Iguhit mo ang Bukas, Kulayan mo ang Pag-asa. He was a three time Finalist in the 38th, 39th and 40th Shell National Student Painting Competition in 2005, 2006 and 2007 (oil/acrylic categories) and a semi-finalist in the oil/acrylic category of the Metrobank Foundation National Competition in 2004, 2005 and 2006. His works have featured in major SE Asian auctions.