Collabs Are as Old as Philippine Art and This Group is Continuing the Tradition

(SPOT.ph) Collaborative art projects have been part of the Philippine art scene for a really long time, apparently pioneered by waves of prehistoric settlers who carved the soft insides of a rock shelter to create the country’s oldest artworks - the Angono Petroglyphs. The engravings, according to Prof. Victor Paz of U.P.’s School of Archaeology, “were done in several phases and can stretch to hundreds of years ago to contemporary times.” Which makes the Angono carvings not just the earliest samples of Philippine art but also the country’s longest-running collaborative work. 

Unlike modern collaborative art, however, which is mostly accompanied by explicit statements and titles that cue the viewer, the Angono Petroglyphs’ symbolisms, more so the intentions of their creators, remain a mystery.  “They’re definitely meaningful,” says Paz, "but we just don’t know much about it...Studies revealed inconclusive results all around but I think the people who made the art did it in connection to their interpretation of their cosmology, and that for the most part they were ritual specialists.”

The earliest art collaboration in the Philippines

The Angono Petroglyphs were discovered in 1965 by Angono native and National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco, three years ahead of the founding of pioneering art collective, the Saturday Group. Not long after, the latter's signature collaborative projects, dubbed interaction paintings, emerged in the local art scene. 

“Actually, you can just paint a nipple and then you’re part of a collaboration, haha!,” recalled Saturday Group stalwart, the late Justin Nuyda, in one of his last interviews. That’s what one of the Saturday Group artists did actually, as per Nuyda’s account. “Sasabihin nya, ‘Akin yung nipples ha.’ Lalagyan nya lang ng pula-pula, tapos sasabihin nya, ‘Ayan … tapos na.’”

Nuyda was an active collaborator, creating works with other Saturday Group artists like H.R. Ocampo and Cesar Legaspi. He was especially proud of the last painting by the group's first batch which he was able to acquire. It bore his own artistic imprints along with those of his peers including Romulo Olazo, Ed Castrillo, Edgar Doctor, Glen Bautista, Efren Samson, BenCab, Pandi Aviado, Alfredo “Ding'' Roces, plus two younger artists whose names he couldn’t recall. “There’s a part by Ding [Roces], and I made the clouds,” he said, describing the piece.  “Yung parang mga ibon, kay Edgar Doctor."

The next generation art collaborations in Philippine art

The collaborative tradition in Philippine art continues generations after, perpetuated by other groups like Salingpusa and Artista ng Bayan or ABAY. But opportunities in the commercial arena saw the explosive growth of a mutant model in a broader space, with artists co-opting the concept to partner with brands for an ever-expanding range of merchandise.

“Collaboration is a beautiful tradition in the Philippine art scene which is unique to our country,” says artist and Eskinita Art Gallery founder and director Alfredo Esquillo. “It is vital to continue this tradition of mentorship and collaboration because this may be a mark of our artistic culture.” 

Esquillo, together with Eskinita Art Gallery’s curator, Arturo Habulan, takes the collaborative practice back to its studio roots, and stretches its limit with an army of 18 painters for two canvas works that will debut at Art Fair PH’s Projects section.  “Etong collab na 'to is a special project,” explains Esquillo, with proceeds from the sales going to a health fund for his gallery’s Tuklas mentorship grantees.

Habulan actually suggested reviving the Tuklas mentorship started by the Center for Young Artists, being a recipient of the mentorship himself. “Unang una, dahil nga may experience ako as a mentee, nakita ko na advantageous sa akin yung experience sa Tuklas,” explains Esquillo. “Eto yung gusto naming maging tradition. In 2017, nagsimula yung Tuklas … si sir Ato ang nagmentor sa akin noon. Tapos nung 2018, sabi niya. ‘O, Eski, ikaw naman.’ So etong tradition na pagiging mentor, pinapasa namin sa next generation.”

Esquillo and Habulan called on 18 Tuklas grant recipients and formed two groups : Tuklas Norte, composed of artists from Northern provinces and headed by Esquillo, and Tuklas Sentro with artists from NCR and nearby provinces guided by Habulan. 

“Bilang facilitator, kumbaga kami yung conductor, taga kumpas ng baton,” Esquillo says, explaining their process. “In a way, curatorial din yung proseso. Lahat nagkakaroon ng assigned task sa paggawa ng painting. Sa umpisa, pinag-uusapan namin yung tema, and then nagkakaoon kami ng sketching session. Puro online eto, kasi magkakalayo kami. Kanya-kanyang character sa painting, tapos may group chat din kami.”

Tuklas at Art Fair Philippines

Studies were made and adjusted before the actual production, with the two groups gathering at Esquillo’s Eskinita Art Farm in Batangas to paint on two canvases for Art Fair Philippines. In the final output, the local art scene’s collaborative  spirit is justly honored. They also nod to the courageous voice of social realism: Faith lies at the center of   “Butterflies Effect,” a vulnerable figure threatened by the horrors and conflicts flanking its sides. 

“Tablado” depicts two fighters poised to slug it out in a boxing ring, surrounded by symbols and characters pulled from local folklore and pop motifs. The canvas is splashed with red, but a cast of deathly gray is layered over the crowd and the cityscape that backgrounds the battling characters.  In a corner, the artists replace the boxing arena’s ubiquitous muse with a manananggal, a round card planted squarely in its lower torso. 

Esquillo also has another Art Fair submission apart from the Tuklas project, circling back to his childhood in Las Pinas with an intriguing sculpture titled “Musika ng Loob.” It is a collaborative work with Cealywn Tagle, a scholar of the Bamboo Organ Foundation, and Diego Cera Organ Builders, the company that builds and maintains bamboo organs. 

“Matagal ko na ring gustong gumawa ng bamboo organ sculpture,” Esquillo admits. “Sa Art Fair, ilalabas namin yung project namin. Eto ay isa pang example ng collaboration. Hindi lang sa painting o sa medium ko nakikita kasi yung ganda, para i-convey anu mang mensahe.”

Art Fair Philippines 2024 runs from February 16 to 18 at The Link, Ayala Center, Makati City. 

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