WλNDERフォト

After capturing our attention with their curiously fresh and endearing manipulated photographs that make you wonder and tell yourself to look out for deep openings in the surface of the earth the next time you go for a walk around the city, SK was given a chance by the lovebirds to fire up an interview in spite of their busy schedule...  

Hello Claire and Karlu! We're glad that you've agreed to be interviewed. Please tell us more about WλNDERフォ and how did you come up with the name.

Hello! Our duo have been taking digital and analog photographs for a year and a half now. Recently, we decided to give our duo an identity so we've come up with a non-cliché name, WλNDERフォト(WanderPhoto). Our goal is to find beauty in strange and underrated places, and capture [them] the most direct way possible. Karlu is exceptional in shooting landscapes, [using] analog photography, and drawing illustrations while I handle portraiture photography and post-processing. We usually just carry our cameras, spontaneously documenting ourselves as we wander around the city. We are suckers for natural light, prime lenses, expired 35mm films, VHS glitches, convex security mirrors, and symmetrical patterns. We create our own little escape and visually share it to people. We seek inspiration from nostalgic places, thrift store hauls, Wes Anderson movies, and underrated indie bands.

Artists have different dispositions when it comes to imagery. We would love to have you talk about what first drew you to street photography and graphic designing.

We've been graphic designing and illustrating since high school. In college, we developed our love for photography. We bought our first analog camera back in January 2013 from William Lutz, who is an amazing street photographer. He later invited us to join the cute camera club, a collective of analog photographers in Davao City. We draw the motivation to do street photography from the members of the club. We like the idea of blurring the line between reality and illusion through digitally vandalizing our photographs with illustrations. In street photography, everything is not perfect and that's kind of what makes it even better.

What are your thoughts and feelings when creatives from another country (let's say Germany) discovers you?

We nearly cried the moment you invited us to be interviewed lol. If our work would be recognized internationally, we might drown in our own puddle of tears haha!

Kindly complete this sentence: "If there's a metaphor that describes our work, it would be..."

...the city is a museum without walls and a big empty canvas waiting to be painted!

Please don't forget to check them out here: http://wndr.co.vu

Davao's August Rush!

How about sending some love to Davao? Send your stickers or your monies and other knick knacks to Wadab Locals in support of this August event.

GORI's Urban Jungle

GORI has been populating several cities in Luzon, Philippines with his gorillas. Streetkonect caught up with him online to get to know his roots.

When did you start doing street art?

I'm a really big fan of art. I've admired it since I was a kid. So now, I am determined and focused on making art unlike before when I had different interests in life. It was year 2009 when I was on my way home and saw a member of VOID CREW painting a huge wall. Colors were everywhere. It really caught my attention. So from that moment until I got home, I thought: Where will I start? How am I going to do it? How can I create something like he did? Then I started sketching everything that was on my mind and whatever my imagination gave me. I researched on every detail and information about the true meaning of street art and graffiti. Then after 2 weeks, I started painting street walls and slapping stickers everywhere I went.

 

What/who inspired you to do so?

I am inspired by the artists who made it big in the street art/graffiti scene like PSP, KST and VOID. I really wanted to paint with them 'cause I knew that I would learn so much from them. And its true, some of them became my friends and they taught me so much and had helped me to grow as an artist. Other people who inspired me to do what I am doing right now are my supportive friends from college who would generously give me paints so I could continue painting. Lastly, the two people who inspired me the most are my parents. They've been so supportive from the start. They never fail to give me compliments with every artwork I do. Hearing them say "Nak, ganda ng gawa mo ah" (Son, your work looks good") is what gives me the motivation to work harder and better.

Why do you have gorillas as your characters?

I started drawing graffiti letters but it was really hard for me to do it. So instead of doing letters, I came up with an alien-like cactus character and stuck with that character for a year. And then I met Chill of PSP and he gave me an idea to use Gorilla as my character instead since my street name is "Gori".  I thought that it was actually a great idea. So, I started painting gorillas that were cartoon-like. Then eventually I started to paint realistic gorillas like the ones I'm painting lately.

Behind the Scene: Chill X Piss

Ano ang bumubuo sa isang litrato? Ang mga imahe na ninanakaw sa bawat pagkakataon na maaaring hindi na muling maulit, ang bawat alaala at istorya na ikinukulong kasabay ng paghigop ng ilaw ng camera. Ang bawat larawan ay may taglay na kapangyarihan, maaaring sa tumitingin o sa taong kumuha o lumikha ng imahe, ito ang inspirasyon sa pagbuo ng eksibisyon nila Chill at Piss.
(What makes up a picture? The images that steal every opportunity that may never again be repeated, the memories and stories that are imprisoned along with the light that cameras sip. Each picture has inherent power, it may come from the viewer or the creator of the image, this is the inspiration that created the exhibition of Chill and Piss.)

Ang konsepto ng show ay umiikot sa pag capture ng mga imahe gamit ang camera at ang proseso ng pagiging saksi ng mga artist sa pagbuo ng bawat litrato at obra, ang tanging patakaran nila Chill at Piss ay ang paggalugod ng posibleng ebolusyon ng mga imahe na nagmula sa mga larawan o ang pag recreate ng proseso ng pagbuo ng imahe, kabilang na dito ang paggunita ng bawat alaala, pakiramdam at kwento na naloloob sa bawat photo. Sa ganitong paraan ay naibabalot nang karagdagang layer ang bawat piyesa upang lalong mapangalagahan, maikalat pa, at mabigyan ng bagong kahulugan ang imahe sa pamamagitan ng pag exhibit nito, sa ganoong paraan ay nabibigyang diin ang mas importante at yun ay ang proseso ng pag likha na nagbibigay ng koneksyon sa artist at sa kaniyang trabaho.
(The concept of the show revolves around the capturing of images with the camera and the artists being witnesses to process of developing each picture and masterpiece, the only rules between Chill and Piss is the exploration of possible evolution of the images that came from the camera captured images or to recreate the process of image formation, including the visualization of each memory, mood and story in each photo. In this way an additional layer covers each pieces to further preserve, spread further, and give a new meaning to the image by its exhibit, this way what is important is given emphasis and that is the process of creation that provides a connection to the artist and his work.) 

Si Chill ay kumuha ng random na mga litrato mula sa mga routine na pangyayari sa kaniyang paligid at kaniyang iniulit ang mga ito sa pamamagitan ng pag pinta at pag guhit upang mabigyan ng panibagong kahulugan ang mga sandalig nabihag ng kaniyang mga larawan. Ang proseso naman ni Piss ay nagsimula sa mga vandal sa pader, na maaaring maihalintulad sa pag ihi ng aso upang maangkin ang kaniyang teritoryo, kanya itong kinuhanan ng litrato bilang documentation ng gawa na hindi permanente at ipininta nya ulit kasama ang kaniyang character na nagpapahiwatig ng kaniyang pakiramdam habang naaalala niya ang pagbuo ng unang imahe. Ang mga bagong produkto ng kanilang mga proseso ay nagsisilbi rin na anino ng mga pangyayari na kanilang nasaksihan sa kabilang bahagi ng mga imahe.
(Chill has take random photos from his usual routine events around him and he recreated these photos through painting and drawing to give a new meaning to his captured images. Piss' process on the other hand started from vandals on walls, which can be compared to a dog urinating on something to mark it's territory, Piss then photographs the wall as documentation of his works that are not permanent, he then paints it again along with his character that indicates his feeling as he remembers the creation of the first image. The new products of their process also serves as shadows of the events they witnessed in the other parts of the image.) 

Si Chill at Piss ay parehong graffiti artist, pintor at illustrator na patuloy na negrerecreate ng sarili nilang imahe sa pamamagitan ng pag gawa ng gusto nilang gawin na walang pretensyon at walang halong shit.
(Chill and Piss are both graffiti artist, painters and illustrators who continue to recreate their own image through creating what they want without pretension and without shit mixed in.)

Written by Bjorn Calleja

StreetKonect #1

Have you checked out the maiden issue of the Streetkonect Magazine? 

This is just the beginning! 

At Issuu

Oh Snaps Kiki

Oh Snaps Kiki is a cross-media team based in Davao City, specializing in layout design, web content development, branding, videography, portrait and event photography. SK caught up with the Creative Director, visual artist and unconventional Ram Botero.

First and foremost, tell us about your role in Oh Snaps Kiki and where did all of this begin?

For formality’s sake I took the creative director position but we don’t really have assigned posts—we are all creative directors, photographers, lay-out artists, visionaries, dreamers, neurotics, etc. We each have our niches though, tweaking with the camera isn’t my strongest suit but I learn from Arian and Catherine and I hope they also learn from my aesthetics (laughs). Oh Snaps Kiki was fashioned out of vanity from three eccentrics that want to give their alternative idea of beauty. And as much as I wanted to discuss our journey as a budding creative firm, I just couldn’t find the words so let me borrow Kahlil Gibran’s, “Among all vanities of life, there is only one thing that the spirit loves and craves. One thing dazzling and alone ... It is an awakening in the spirit; it is an awakening in the inner depths of the heart; it is an overwhelming and magnificent power that descends suddenly upon man's conscience and opens his eyes, whereupon he sees Life amid a dizzying shower of brilliant music, surrounded by a circle of great light, with man standing as a pillar of beauty between the earth and the firmament. It is a flame that suddenly rages within the spirit and sears and purifies the heart, ascending above the earth and hovering in the spacious sky.

I've noticed the dramatic composition of everything in the website/blog. You and your creatives Catherine and Arian work together as a team, how does this relationship work when it comes to designing or taking photographs?

Principally it was Arian who took photography seriously and self-studied, Catherine followed his lead. Arian put up a Facebook page and called it Oh Snaps Kik (Kiki originally came from Latin-American gay lingo as an onomatopoeia for laughter) and Catherine and I became his portable muses. Arian has a Creative Writing degree and his splendid photographs are like visual poetry and the mesmerizing compositions are reflective of being a marvelous storyteller. Among the three of us, Catherine is more pragmatic and level-headed and she is our voice of reason. Catherine majored in Media Arts and works as a layout-artist and as a brand consultant. She understands the tricks of the trade and she anchors us whenever we become too wistful. Nevertheless Catherine makes creativity a priority and her style is as flamboyant as the rest of the Kikis. I, on the other hand, am the genius. Of course I’m kidding. I want romance, I want substance, I want magic, I want allure, I want grandeur and I sprinkle every bit of them in our creative outputs. I’ve mentioned that we advocate an alternative idea of beauty; this is because we see the hegemonic thought quite distorted. As a transgender, a Filipino, a literary, a daughter, a woman, a friend, a radical, a day-dreamer we would like to present beauty in its various faces. They say too many cooks spoil the broth but not in our case. The Kikis understand that we each have our nuances. Although sometimes we could be very uncompromising, especially with our differing aesthetics, we know that we are oceans pulled together by one moon. 

What's your point of view on the internet showcasing undiscovered artistic talents?

I’m very grateful. The mainstream media is very biased and limiting while the internet gives us a wider playing field. When we started, like I mentioned, it was just out of vanity yet people seem to appreciate what we are doing; aside from discovering promising artists the internet also helps artists to find the right audience that understands what they are doing. Of course we are luckier than Van Gogh, to live in a time where we are somehow free to express ourselves and to have a niche where we could blossom. 

If I could change the world...
We could have a discourse on class struggle, on the struggle of man against power and on the struggle for equality but I am not the right person for this. I have yet to be at peace with myself and then I can tell you about changing the world.

Readers can find more about The Kikis here.
Website: www.ohsnapskiki.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/ohsnapskiki