Her: An Art Exhibit

Hey Steemians! Been a while! :)

Last March was not only graduation week, but it also was International Women’s Month. Last March, different organisations held different activities which show appreciation and importance to women in the communities all over the world.

As part of Arkadia Collective, an all-women art group, we were fortunate enough to come up with our all-women exhibit entitled ‘Her.’

(Side note: Arkadia Collective got its name from a Mindanaoan heroine, Arkadia, who defended her town from Japanese occupants.)

The poster itself tells a story- one that women everywhere can relate to.

With the help of the Xavier Center for Culture and the Arts, Xavier University and San Miguel Corporation, we were able to run the exhibit for almost two months! :)

The artists of Arkadia Collective.

We spent months toiling on our pieces. We gave them a lot of thought. This is the first time that an all-women group would exhibit in the Fr. Demetrio gallery in Xavier University. The title ‘Her.’ itself challenges us, the artists, to portray women in different circumstances, in different aspects.

One of my art pieces. It’s from the tutorial I posted earlier!

This one is entitled ‘Devi’, Indian, meaning goddess (not because I’m named Dev.. well, sort of. Haha.)

For me, making ‘Devi’ was meditative. The work has mandala-esque properties, and the colours are pretty much unlike me. (Meaning they’re bright. Haha.) But also because I believe in the power of women to influence change, thus, what we say, what we look like, and what we believe should be revered, all the same.

I’ll be sharing some of my favorite pieces from our exhibit with you!

The first two are from a good friend of mine, Dana Martinez.

I love the colours in this one, I also like her fleeting expression.

This painting gives a new meaning to ‘Flowers in Her Hair’. Just look at how the colours fade into darkness, yet stand out.

The next one is from Angela Pascual.

This speaks volumes to me. Sometimes, women are put down, often regarded as the ‘inferior sex’ by a patriarchal culture. But this painting shows us how women rise from the earth and show us who they truly are- who we truly are. Beautiful, yet flawed.

The next piece is an abstract eye-popper from Milalai ‘Lai’ Pimentel.

What do you see? I see women dancing, women in harmony, women side by side. The idea of ‘We rise by lifting others’ come to me when I see Lai’s work.

This very interesting piece is from Arkyoo Quirante.

*This takes ‘eye-popping’ to a whole new level!

Arkyoo loves working on the weird and the quirky. I am continually amazed at how she challenges what is deemed beautiful and what is ‘normal’. Sends waves of ideas about how we are often times ‘blind’ to other people, how people only look through the eyes, and how sometimes, we hurt with our words. That’s just me, of course. Haha.

The next one, the one I find harrowing, is that of Meling Abuga-a’s.

Skeletal yet sinewy.

Meling’s paintings have been an inspiration to me. The way the layers the colours, the attention to detail. I think what interests me about this painting is how she ‘stripped’ the female figure without stripping it of its beauty.

The next one is by Pat ‘Taco’ Borja.

Checkmate.

Pat’s work deals with perspective. She’s a very skilled artist. Unlike the usual, our chess pieces soar out of the chess board and into our consciousness. Led by no less than the queen.

Brace yourself for the last one. The pinnacle of the exhibit.

It is EXACTLY what it looks like.

Ah, the cave. Our home, our beginning. Woman being the giver and nourisher of life.

We hoped that ‘Her.’ gave a perspective on how women love and how women create. If we encourage each other to create, no one loses. Everyone wins. If we encourage women to created, we get more stories, ‘live’ more lives and broaden our horizon.

Have you thanked a woman today? Thank Her.