ABSOLUTELY TAINTED

A group show by Aldron Anchinges, Popoy Aspiras and Jep Dizon

“Absolutely Tainted”

Uncertainty can be a deceptive, virulent thing. It breeds mistrust in the most mundane of encounters, casting into doubt whatever stability we may have held on to. It throws a curveball at our ideas and leaves us with nothing but questions: Where do we go from here?

Artists working in different shades of realism wrestle through these questions by delving deep into their own visual languages. They reflect realism not as an expression of reality, but as perception. Taking images familiar, they turn them unfamiliar, allowing us to see aspects of the mundane we had not yet seen – or perhaps rediscover what we thought we already knew.

“Absolutely Tainted” gathers the art of Jep Dizon, Popoy Aspiras, and Aldron Anchinges as they ponder upon the nature of these queries at a time when uncertainty clouds virtually everyone’s future. Brandishing their skills for realism, their subject matters delve into the enigma of surrealism as they attempt to figure out where to go next when the road map is unreadable.

Journey is a central theme in the works of Anchinges. His figures neither move nor stay still as they venture to places unknowable. Keeping them company are the visual markers, both literal and metaphorical, of the journeys they’ve taken so far and are yet to experience.

Aspiras tackles uncertainty on an internal level. Evoking the fragility of surfaces like foil and glass against delicate cloudscapes, he alludes to the nature of the human psyche. On the one end, crumpling and shattering with ease, while on the other, strong and radiant amidst adversity.

Blankets, often associated with comfort, become instruments of obstruction in Dizon’s paintings. His figures are left oblivious to the precarious game of balance they have unknowingly become a part of. Part surreal vision, part Baroque still life, his works borrow concepts from both genres to depict musings on mortality and fate.

When the road ahead becomes unrecognizable, the only recourse may be to rely on what we do know to embrace what we don’t. In “Absolutely Tainted,” three artists present their journeys through uncertainty. The destination may yet be unknowable, but still we move onward.

Text by Mara Fabella