MANILA – January 13, 2014 – Strangely titled, Allan Balisi’s ‘Beggars Fortress‘ is a collection of black and white images, all heavy with the weight of desire. "Tungkol siya sa mga gusto mo pero hindi mo siya makuha (It’s about what you want but can’t get)," Balisi told adobo during the exhibit opening at Silverlens Galleries on January 9.
The exhibit features Balisi’s paintings, scenes from films such as Ed Wood’s Jail Bait, Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville, and Spielberg’s 1941. Balisi shared that his previous work took inspiration from family photos, but decided to gather images from films for this exhibit.
There is a nostalgic feel to the collection, but Balisi said this may be because the works are in black and white. "Kung tutuusin hindi naman siya nostalgic talaga, siguro masasabi mo lang na nostalgic kasi black and white, parang past pictures (If you think about it, they’re not really nostalgic. Maybe you can say it’s nostalgic because it’s in black and white, like past pictures)," he said.
In the exhibit notes, Dodo Dayao wrote, "There’s an odd, enigmatic timbre to the title of Allan Balisi’s new show, Beggars’ Fortress. But it makes sense given how beggars are essentially creatures of never-ending desire. And Balisi is ruminating on its melancholies. But this is desire for the sake of desire, desire without the promise, let alone the catharsis, of coveting. Desire and the obscurity and impossibility of its objects."
Beggars Fortress runs from January 9 to February 8, 2014 at Silverlens Galleries, 2F YMC Bldg 2, 2320 Don Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati City.
Photo: Allan Balisi, Unmade pictures gathering dust, 2013
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