MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Dull is a word you’ll never use to describe the streets of Metro Manila. After all, it is a melting pot of cultures rich in community, expressions, creativity, and local flavor. Though not entirely new, the street art scene has now become a breath of fresh air amid chaotic cityscapes. Every now and then, along the streets, buildings or perhaps even some hole in the wall joint, you might be lucky enough to find a visually-striking piece that leaves a lasting impact; and chances are, one of those pieces would be by Jappy Agoncillo.
Agoncillo is a street artist, painter, and illustrator. With an influence from hip hop and punk rock music from the ’90s and 2000s, as well as comic books and classic cartoons, he has worked with brands such as Heineken and Shake Shack (yes, that Shake Shack mural in BGC is by him!), Adidas, National Bookstore, to name a few.
This year, Graphika Manila is bringing Jappy Agoncillo to share his creative journey in front of designers, creatives and students all over the region. He chats with adobo magazine and gives us a look into this.
Can you share how you started your creative journey?
I started my creative journey really when I was in college. Aside from drawing ever since I was very young and being known as the kid who can draw all throughout school, it was only in college that I decided it was something I was willing to pursue. After brief stint in UST Fine Arts, I shifted to DLSU to try and become a lawyer, having become discouraged in art school. It was only in DLSU that my hunger for a creative life grew stronger than before, and before long I was taking small art jobs for friends – commissions for their loved ones, school projects, and making stickers to hand out to them just for fun – all while still studying for my Legal Management degree.
Eventually, through the magic of social media, the small commissions became bigger ones, and bigger commissions became walls, and before I knew it I was a pre-law student by day and churning out client commissions at night. I recycled the little money I made back into the business, as well as to be more self-reliant as a freelancer, making sure the full burden of sustaining it fell on me. Years later when I had graduated I was finding art to be more and more viable as a career path, with law school seeming more distant from my interests and the huge cost it would take was not something I was willing to put on my family on the chance that I may not even like it. With the money I saved up from working when I was a student, I decided to give freelancing a shot, giving myself maybe a year to see if I can do it.
Have you always been a freelance creative? Can you share with us what made you take this path?
I have always been a freelance creative, though at some point I did also consider traditional 9-5s, going as far as several interviews and job offers. I took the freelance path as I thought it was the only way I could retain the freedom of running my own business, choosing my own hours, and charging my own rates. It was something I felt suited me more, as I could pick and choose what came to me and what I wanted to go after.
Give three words to describe your signature style.
My signature style can be described as Vibrant, Dynamic, and Capricious.
We know you’ve worked for brands like Heineken and Shake Shack. What has been your most memorable project so far? Why?
To be honest, my most memorable projects are the ones that don’t have anything to do with brands. I love working with brands, and believe a lot of them are some of my best works, but the ones I remember the most are the ones I do on the streets, the ones I do just for me, for the town, for the community I place the artwork in.
I think it’s because when you work on a piece out there, it’s on your own initiative, you leave your hard work out there for no other gain other than artistic satisfaction. I remember the most out of the pieces I did abroad. Because you’re miles away from home in a strange place, painting walls for no gain and yet you know in your heart why it is you’re there, why despite the difficulty and unfamiliarity that you want to be there painting. One such example is painting in Mumbai for a music & arts festival. I was given lodging at a dorm room at the school where it was being held, I ate for free at their school cafeteria with a student meal plan where I unknowingly went vegetarian for a week, I painted in the afternoons surrounded by cows who free roam the grounds, I taught a few locals how to use spray paint, I was completely alone in a unfamiliar country but I could not and would not complain – I gained nothing but experience and it remains one of my best memories to this day.
What lessons can we anticipate in your session for the upcoming Graphika Manila 2020?
I think for Graphika, I might just give a talk on the freelance life – ins, outs, and lessons from my experiences. I don’t believe I’m at the level of the other speakers who have amazing resumes and so much time, wisdom, and experience under their belts. I’m just a guy trying to make it happen and got very lucky. I want to give a talk for the people who were in my position just years ago. People who have passions but don’t know how to navigate them, people who don’t know how to get it off the ground. Whatever I wish I knew back when I started out I want to share with others in the hopes of saving them just a little bit of doubt and grief which are very common when you set out to do something risky.
To view more of Jappy Agoncillo’s work, follow him on Facebook and Instagram!
Graphika Manila 2020 is happening this coming February 15 & 16 at SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. Ticket claims/registration opens at 10:30AM. Gates open at 11:30AM. Event proper starts from 1:00PM to 7:00PM. For more information, visit www.graphikamanila.com
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of Graphika Manila 2020.
