With her vision predicated on the sustainability of tangible heritage, Melissa Yeung-Yap reaches out to communities from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, sourcing materials as well as carving out markets for their products.
Ongoing at ArtistSpace, 10 10 10 features artist Melissa Yeung-Yap’s showcase of works that tries to contemplate the past, present and future, woven together by her engagement with some of the most enduring products of Philippine culture. The title signifies her 10th anniversary in the art world, her 10th solo exhibition, as well as her informed collaboration with over 10 Philippine indigenous and artisan communities as an artist, field researcher and social entrepreneur.
Organized by Art Lounge Manila and curated by Ricky Francisco, the exhibition presents paintings, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), sculptures and interactive digital works, all of which bear the artist’s intuitive style as well as her animated commitment in bringing vernacular motifs to a more contemporary visual language. Her tapestry-like works vibrate with the artist’s eloquent, painterly strokes that recall the luxuriant colors and textures of flowers in conversation with the patterns of our homegrown fabrics.
As an artist whose vision is predicated on the sustainability of tangible heritage, Yeung-Yap reaches out to communities from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, sourcing materials as well as carving out markets for their products—from the filigree-work and tambourine jewelry of Vigan to the T’nalak fabric of the T’boli. She sees her incorporation of these handwoven treasures in her works as a way to honor our rich tradition, energize the imagination of audiences and trace the contours of the Filipino identity in its multitude of complex and compelling expressions.
10 10 10 will run until December 7. ArtistSpace is located at the ground level of Ayala Museum Annex, Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Greenbelt Park, Makati City. For inquiries, contact Precy at +639355511305 or info@artloungemanila.com.
