courtyard!
It seems that Mark Salvatus has committed himself to a lifetime project of examining “spaces” - public, private and whatever's in between. Working closely with people who inhabit them, Salvatus captures the state of these communities through the objects that belong directly to or are loosely associated with their occupants.
In Courtyard, Salvatus provides a semi-fictional version of his Manila City Jail immersion. In the exhibition, he provides contextual elements of the actual space such as local gang logos that marked territorial borders in the prison itself and tattoos that designate individual inmates.
As a “courtyard” is an enclosed space open to the sky, Salvatus then offers an aerial view of Bilibid itself. Essential to Courtyard,this map serves as point of reference, to a place in question. With the original plan of remaking the space, he embarks on a narrative of a whodunit from an actual event of a riot in Manila City Jail between two rival gangs. From an investigation from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Salvatus does his own inspection in Courtyard. With existing makeshift weapons he was familiarized to in his immersion, he places them traced and “wrapped” as confiscated objects in an “evidence wall”.
The value of objects is once again put into the forefront of Salvatus' oeuvre. Things are symbols of themselves. Pretty much, an improvised knife that killed is an improvised knife that killed. “Do or die” is far from a determining existential cry but is a gang slogan – word/s as objects themselves. It is also much so that an evidence of a crime scene do not say “why” foremost but confirms the “what”. Likewise, Salvatus gives credit to objects being constitutive parts of a whole. As with Courtyard, the objects – adaptations and variants – point to an existing community that Salvatus has re-constructed into a meta-narrative with his own investigation and conclusions.
In Courtyard, Salvatus provides a semi-fictional version of his Manila City Jail immersion. In the exhibition, he provides contextual elements of the actual space such as local gang logos that marked territorial borders in the prison itself and tattoos that designate individual inmates.
As a “courtyard” is an enclosed space open to the sky, Salvatus then offers an aerial view of Bilibid itself. Essential to Courtyard,this map serves as point of reference, to a place in question. With the original plan of remaking the space, he embarks on a narrative of a whodunit from an actual event of a riot in Manila City Jail between two rival gangs. From an investigation from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Salvatus does his own inspection in Courtyard. With existing makeshift weapons he was familiarized to in his immersion, he places them traced and “wrapped” as confiscated objects in an “evidence wall”.
The value of objects is once again put into the forefront of Salvatus' oeuvre. Things are symbols of themselves. Pretty much, an improvised knife that killed is an improvised knife that killed. “Do or die” is far from a determining existential cry but is a gang slogan – word/s as objects themselves. It is also much so that an evidence of a crime scene do not say “why” foremost but confirms the “what”. Likewise, Salvatus gives credit to objects being constitutive parts of a whole. As with Courtyard, the objects – adaptations and variants – point to an existing community that Salvatus has re-constructed into a meta-narrative with his own investigation and conclusions.
- Siddharta Perez
Courtyard
October 17 - November 14, 2009
PABLO Gallery Fort
Taguig, Philippines
conversation with nemo!
"sick.sweet.raw.jaw dropping.wicked painter in all sorts of canvass"
-okto
ususan, taguig city mjo patay ang art scene smen puro kc gangster at adik bubuhayin pa lng nmen ni whoooop! hehe
"...you should just fuckin' do what ever you like to do"
-frank kozik
-okto
Streetkonect: how old are you?
23
Streetkonect: where do you live? And describe the art scene in your place.
ususan, taguig city mjo patay ang art scene smen puro kc gangster at adik bubuhayin pa lng nmen ni whoooop! hehe
Streetkonect: How would you describe your art and your artistic process?
cguro un description nung gwa k di nalalayo s pop-popsurreal/popsocial-surreal tas automatism tas imagintaion based.twag nung iba lowbrow art.. pagkakaalam k kc ksma street art at graffiti dun..
un proseso dpende s kung anu un ggwin e..
minsan me studies minsan nman wla, automatism tlga. tas minsan un mga subliminal images n mkkta m ng bglaan. halimbwa un image n nbbuo s marmol at un image s mga lumot tas un image n mkkta m pag tinamaan ng liwanag un wytbord at kung anuanu pa.. imaginary prends tska mga drowings ng bata.
dun ngcmula un mga halimaw
un proseso dpende s kung anu un ggwin e..
minsan me studies minsan nman wla, automatism tlga. tas minsan un mga subliminal images n mkkta m ng bglaan. halimbwa un image n nbbuo s marmol at un image s mga lumot tas un image n mkkta m pag tinamaan ng liwanag un wytbord at kung anuanu pa.. imaginary prends tska mga drowings ng bata.
dun ngcmula un mga halimaw
Streetkonect: Who/What are your influences?
s lokal mdae, louie cordero ciempre no.1 un.
colleagues ciempre.. basta un mga khawig ng mga gwa ko..basta madae den e cmula s cartoonist hanggang s mga street artist meron.. tsaka un mga gwa ng bata..
intl., clayton brothers, jeff soto, todd & kathie schorr
jordin icip (fil-am)
salvador dali, andy warhol tsaka c haring at basquiat
colleagues ciempre.. basta un mga khawig ng mga gwa ko..basta madae den e cmula s cartoonist hanggang s mga street artist meron.. tsaka un mga gwa ng bata..
intl., clayton brothers, jeff soto, todd & kathie schorr
jordin icip (fil-am)
salvador dali, andy warhol tsaka c haring at basquiat
Streetkonect: What are the things you usually do besides making art?
wla nman..
uminom ng kobra tska mgtrip
s bahay lng nkatanga tska ngiisip at minsan ngbabasa ng kung anuanu, gnun lng
tas art n lhat e.
uminom ng kobra tska mgtrip
s bahay lng nkatanga tska ngiisip at minsan ngbabasa ng kung anuanu, gnun lng
tas art n lhat e.
Streetkonect: What is your greatest ambition?
mging full tym artist na.
naiinip nkue.
tska mka 2man exhibition si
sir louie cordero! ::)
naiinip nkue.
tska mka 2man exhibition si
sir louie cordero! ::)
Streetkonect: Motto in life?
"...you should just fuckin' do what ever you like to do"
-frank kozik
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