Ahon

The latest body of work by artist, Mei Afable, is a series of four new paintings rendered in acrylic on canvas. In this series, Mei reflects on what a painting is – way beyond the aesthetic. 

The idea for the series was sparked by Mei’s earlier paintings of over two decades, wherein she simulated the passage of time by recreating decayed walls found in the city of Manila. In this new series, Mei immerses herself in the built urban environment that comprises our daily reality. A decrepit wall. An abandoned building. These stark and very real, yet taken for granted, surfaces provide the milieu for expression in these paintings. While we pass through these spaces in our daily lives, we seldom notice the marks on their surfaces that tell us about who we are and where we belong. And yet, like the swimmer embedded in the paintings, we instinctively strive and struggle to make our way through the mundane, often gritty realities we face. The colours red, white, blue, and yellow remind us of our flag and ground us in the reality of our daily lives. 

Ahon as a series depicts the complex interplay between the painter and the context in which art is created. By working with found surfaces on the city streets, Mei accentuates the physicality of a painting. It is a tangible surface with a unique character that is shaped through inevitable forces such as the passage of time, the onslaught of nature, and human action. In this sense, painting is akin to the idiosyncratic expression of our own human character. The painter becomes the painting, and vice-versa. 

Ahon portrays a paradox of meanings that underpin a painting. It is a deliberate yet instinctual act to create. It is a resolute statement and also a response to the inevitable and undeniable occurrences that mark our lives. Like the swimmer in the paintings, we have no choice but to move towards the surface to breathe, only to immerse ourselves once more. Such is life. Such is art.