One of the country’s youngest and most prolific photographers (and an adobo contributor) recently opened his first exhibit at the Fashion Walk of posh Greenbelt 5. Mark Nicdao, unveiled Alive last Wednesday, March 11 to a large crowd of well-wishers, fans and art aficionados.
The exhibit title is reflective of the style Nicdao employs to portray his selection of talents. On display is an eclectic collection, as disparate as Tessa Prieto-Valdes and Sarah Geronimo, Richard Gomez to Luke Jickain, with KC Concepcion and Gov. LRay Villafuerte in the fray as well. Photographed in white haze, in a surreal (spiritual, maybe?) capsule of brilliance, the personalities are in fact, de-personalized. But it is in this removal of their public personality that a more intimate, inner image emerges. In his choice of direction, Nicdao reveals “Everyone knows me as wacky. But, I thought, before I could break the rules, I have to know the rules. So, I had to start with the traditional and classical. So I chose black-and-white.”
Choosing the talents and holding photo sessions between work projects, including mounting the exhibit, took all of three weeks. The talent shoots took no longer than fifteen minutes each. Styling took longer. No wonder Nicdao is strung out and jazzed up on opening night. “I just came from the barber!,” he shrieks in Nicdao style. “Everything fell into place, almost spiritual,” he added solemnly, while pointing to the heavens in tacit prayer.
