HIGH-RISE BLUES

Cities that are deprived of vast land areas have no way to expand but vertically. This means that dwellings are constructed like boxes piled one on top of the other and sometimes reach up to seventy floors or more. In each level, where the common access is provided for by lifts, the sociofugal design of a cluster of flats or apartment units discourage social interaction. Each family is to its own.

Children that were born or have grown up in this reality are hungry for the wide lawns to run around and stairs to climb up and down. These were the complaints of my kids and whenever they visit the province the experience to stay in a split-level bungalow makes a strong impression on them.

Another dilemma is, the lower the flat level the noisier and more crowded the surrounding environment but the rent is cheap. In contrast, the higher the flat level is the better the panorama when one looks out of the window but here the rent is high.

If you're lucky you will have the clear view of those distant mountains and the clear blue sky. Or in another bedroom window, the panoramic view of the sea gives a soothing relief after one busy office day. But once you're unlucky to fall prey to property agents that rip you off and give you a flat in one crowded estate the only window view that you will get is just a slice of the sky, where sunlight finds its way through those concrete canyons to dry your laundry hanging in the living room window. (Joel E. Ferraris)

PRY, BUZZ, SEE (privacy)

The advent of cellular phones, computers and all those digital gadgets allowed people to communicate more and to be easily connected. To be abreast with what's going on all around the world means digging into a mine full of information through the Internet. And nowadays it is easy to get things done so fast or do business with ease right in the very comforts of homes, offices or any place as long as the laptop, cellular phones and other gizmos are within reach.

Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve it is a fact that people value their privacy the reason why there are separate bedrooms or separate toilet cubicles and a very sensitive way of using clothing. Even our private lives, our inner thoughts and sensitive feelings are very much valued.

But what is surprising now is to see how individuals, so engrossed in phone conversations right in the middle of a crowded place using their latest model cell phones, could carelessly burst their bubble called privacy and allow it to overlap and blend with the other people's bubble.

Aside from surveillance cameras conspicuously situated who-knows-where that act like an all-seeing eye, the solitary situation of a person in front of his computer in a closed room cannot escape the naughty eyes of hackers, intruders and their Trojan horses.

The availability of products of advanced technology allows people to intrude, to spread news or rumors and to become witness to some truths, half-truths and all kinds of lies sometimes. But, like a boomerang that flies back to its thrower, these acts we do could someday make us become unwary sitting ducks.

Come to think of it, this move by people to watch every move of their fellowmen will not be a burden at all on one's privacy if each person walks in the path of righteousness demanded by an all-seeing and all-knowing God. People that live in truth, in honesty, and integrity are trustworthy because they know fully well God the Father Almighty's commandments that teach man to be righteous. And He watches and knows everything.


This wall installation, using (surprisingly unused) plastic bubbles that I bought from a junk shop near my studio situated in an industrial area in Hong Kong, attempts to present a picture of how the digital technology has connected people in the whole world today. By using colored strings the viewers are able to visualize the busy connections and hotspots once they are all online. (Joel E. Ferraris)

DIGITAL DREAMS in different versions

When someone asked me why I gave this title to this series of new works I jokingly replied with a question, "Are our dreams digital or analog?" This is in reference to the flood of new and more advanced digital video and cameras and the gradual disappearance of analog devices.

Actually, the title is meant to fit the image it represents. In this age of everything turning digital it is surprising to discover that for the last five years that I have bought CDs, VCDs and now DVDs the design of their case has evolved. The change was so fast that older designs are not available in the market nowadays.

In utilizing these old CD/VCD/DVD cases collections plus recycling those old, broken ones I tried to preserve them by turning them into works of art. By exposing their designs and shapes and by enhancing them with textures and colors they are unrecognizable at first glance. But the addition of real CDs of different colors one will realize they once existed.

In the years to come, especially now that the problem of overflowing rubbish and landfill management become headaches especially in big cities, surely these once junk pieces now somehow serve as archeological finds long before their time of discovery comes.

FREE FLOW: going with the flow

KOA ART GALLERY floor plan

There were 12 artworks in FREE FLOW exhibition some of which were sets of several artpieces combined. They were as follows:

1. DIGITAL DREAMS (v2)
2. DIGITAL DREAMS (V4)
3. PRY, BUZZ, SEE
4. HIGH-RISE BLUES
5. MANICURED CANYONS AND THE HOWLING WINDS OF HOMESICKNESS
6. STORIES IN STOREYS
7. HIGH-RISE, HIGH PRICE
8. ASIAN MOUSETRAP
9. JOB VACANCY
10. ONE COOL MORNING IN BORACAY
11. MORNING PAPER
12. TWO LANDSCAPES, TWO CHILDHOODS

The viewers were surprised to see the diversity of the artworks that were presented in different styles and mediums. I intended to do it this way so as to best express my ideas about certain issues affecting my life as an artist. Besides, FREE FLOW suggests more freedom and flexibility in achieving ones goal in life and this belief is best articulated in my Artist's Statement.

This whole exhibition seems to tell a story by the manner that these art pieces were hung on the walls. Considering the fact that I haven't had an ocular inspection of the exhibition venue, which is several thousands of miles away, prior to the exhibition, I did not really have a final plan what to bring here in my first North American solo art exhibition. I just tried to be true to its title FREE FLOW and let the whole project unfold like a mystery by itself, doing each and every artpiece for several months one at a time in between my jobs. But as the exhibition preparation progresses I tried to adjust to the given situation as dictated by and relative to the exhibition venue. It turned out that the outcome of how they were arranged in sequence gave me an idea on how to view them collectively or individually.

The artpieces right on the entrance of this gallery say something about the digital age (DIGITAL DREAMS) now and how we are connected worldwide (PRY, BUZZ, SEE) . This reality brings us to the fact that the more advanced a society is the more advantage or disadvantage (HIGH RISE BLUES) we have from the rest in this race called survival of the fittest.

But as we go into the main gallery section we will have a chance to feel how it is to live in the midst of a very modern and advance city where the density in population means that skyscrapers are needed not only to accommodate the flood of foreign workers but also to energize the property market and where the pace of life is very fast. Imagine now that you are inside your flat on the 25th floor in Hong Kong.

Now try to look out of those three large windows and you will see a panorama of the city skyline. MANICURED CANYONS AND THE HOWLING WINDS OF HOMESICKNESS will bring right in front of our eyes the view of a city like Hong Kong or any other world city. Viewed from a perfect distance, depending on the clarity of your vision, you will have a clear view of the high-rise structures in different colors.

As you move to the next artwork, imagine this time that you got hold of your son's telescope and you zoomed-in a bit towards those distant buildings. STORIES IN STOREYS will reveal the possible sights that you will see as you try to look for stars at night but happen to see your neighbors' windows instead.

Zoom a little bit farther now, or better yet use an x-ray telescope/camera, and HIGH RISE HIGH PRICE will attempt to reveal the reality that one small flat in this city is not enough to accommodate all your family's belongings. How much more if your kids start to grow up each day? How many of these things you have accumulated for years are you going to throw away?

ASIAN MOUSETRAP is just like doing the daily chores of tidying-up the house and returning all your kids' toys into their boxes. And that is everyday!

Ah, yes…your kids. This time you think about how to care for them, how to raise them up in this city and how to prepare them for the world. How about those threats to their moral values? And how about those terrorist threats that target civilians like us and become victims who-knows-when? How will you be able to prepare them for that? JOB VACANCY, the series, will encourage you and show you how. It will make you think twice and question your existence and why are you here joining the rat-race in this big city.

Maybe your small, expensive flat is not the right place for contemplation even if you started to pray each night for your own salvation and your kids' future and well-being. So maybe that ONE COOL MORNING IN BORACAY will enable you to have a more relaxed and suitable place for reflection and contemplation.

Once you find solace in this place and become rejuvenated mentally, physically, psychologically and most of all spiritually you are strong enough to face reality as you read the daily news in the MORNING PAPER.

After reading the paper and accepting reality you are somehow much equipped now to return to the city and a lot bolder to face the future ready to accept the realities of TWO LANDSCAPES, TWO CHILDHOODS.

And as you go out of this gallery, passing by the rest of the other artpieces depicting the digital age that you first saw when you entered this gallery, you are probably in a hurry to go back to work to read your emails.

Thanks a lot for viewing this exhibition…


JOEL EUGENIO EPISTOLA FERRARIS

Hong Kong-based Filipino Artist

ferrarisart.com