As We Lay To Bed by Dennis Bato

Nov . 14, 2014
Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery 

“Long story short . . . They forgot that they are all brothers and sisters cohabiting the same planet. So they kinda became delusional and imagined these invisible borders, Beliefs and structures separating them and started destroying each other and the Earth they live on . . . Instead of just living, sharing and evolving together. “

–Mike Adams & Dan Berger

Wake, eat, work sleep... and back to start, the cycle goes on and on just like a series of programs injected in our minds, morphing humans into mindless robots and foot soldiers.

Tradition, culture and beliefs greatly affect our society’s individual mindsets. In the verge of our modern stereotype era, everyone is shut in a delusion of living but in reality, turmoil and dismay lingers in each and every one of us. A temporary haven disguised in false hopes, greed, hunger, craving for something people want instead of need. Standards and practices create boundaries which entangle us in an imaginary prison cell that confines the freedom our thoughts seek, making every one a cliché in a mirage; the future we are reaching for.

The society is racing towards the path of technological advancements and breakthrough, which we can say that the human instinct for survival has set an enormous impact on the system imposed in our society. People have the capability of struggling to survive but lack the strength to live. The question is are we still moving forward?

“As we lay to bed” tends to revoke the ideology of modern mindsets which were trapped within the norms of the past, redirecting our urge to get out of the edificial casing, the standards and practices that is enveloping our society, and society’s main element – you.

Lapses by Jood Clarino

Nov. 14, 2014
Vinyl on Vinyl Gallery

I read a book lately. It’s about two young men, travelling the globe for a week – with minimal necessities – giving away thousands of dollars along the way. They have to get rid of it as soon as possible, and as much as they can. Of course I won’t tell you that the succeeded in the most hilarious, creative, and daring way they possibly can. I’d ruin the very reason you bought the book.

But that’s not the point. I’m thinking, why do we need all that money anyway? Is it for power, greed, for our needs? We don’t need much, so why want more? We all know – or heard from someone, maybe God – that from where we came from, we shall return. And from where we came from, it’s a very small, dark place to fit everything we had in life. I admire these young men, whatever cause they believe in to give that much bills. They not only liberate themselves, but they found a way to tell the world, hey, you listen to me, and you better listen well.

The art exhibited has taken new grounds to liberate life from the velocity of these desires. With the use of nothing but pitch blackness, spray paint, and quick dry paints; the art captures the image of life stenciled in honest simplicity. It features the process of complicating one’s creativity – which everyone starts from – but executes in a very simple way. The artist relentlessly practices to eliminate his wants, the greed that accompanies these wants, and the selfishness that resulted from that greed.
Jood Clarino shows us that true beauty is not having a beautiful life, but having a simple life that radiates genuine beauty is a beautiful life. Some of us – most of us, if we admit it to ourselves – tend to do the same mistake of making things much more complicated as they already were. With probity, the exhibit frees us from the clichés we’re so used to breathing in; paralyzing us, making us slaves of ignorance. But maybe we still don’t get it, maybe because we haven’t looked closely, or maybe we still want more. Look into his art; know the beauty of true colors in pitch darkness. Then maybe we’ll see that it’s very simple. And it’s beautiful that way. Celebrate with us tonight, with art, with food, drinks, and with the company – that in truth – is all we need. - Teng Sibug