After a "smear campaign" on his works from the Yabols (his coined term for "yes") series along Alabang-Zapote Road in Las Piñas by unidentified person/s (with budget and penchant for black paint), Rai get back with his own brand of vengeance--rollers, paints and a positive attitude to paint new works over his damaged ones.
A month ago, Rai started working on his first street paintings along Alabang-Zapote Road (some of them documented here). He started doing street art to engage the masses in a more accessible discourse on art. For his Yabols series, he had worked on obtaining legal walls along the Alabang-Zapote Rd. He painted during the day wherein passersby could see him at work. They would stop by his painting spot and ask him about his piece and what he does, and he would find the time to engage them in conversations about his art and art in general. Shortly after he painted them, he found all his works smeared with black paint.
Despite the disappointment over seeing his works ruined, Rai chose to push on. In a note he has written on his FB account, Rai declared: "Ang tanong ngayon gagawa pa ba ako ng ganito? Hindi na. Kasi gagawa ako ng mas matindi at mas mabangis. Dahil yung mga tao na gusto matuto at umiintindi ay sapat na inspirasyon para magpatuloy. Tara lets!" (The question is, will I still make works like these? No longer, because I will make ones that are greater and fiercer. The people who want to learn and understand are enough inspiration [for me to do so.] Let's go!)"
Yabols! That's the spirit!
Photos courtesy of Rai Cruz