Francis Nacion and Bernadette delos Santos, aka Bidibidi, two artists who work with different mediums, collaborate for the first time to come up with a show that celebrates color, texture and everything good in life.
Both of their works teem not only with vibrant colors and whimsy, but these two artists, despite working with different mediums, also gravitate to portraying the good in life. If like attracts like, it was only a matter of time for visual artists Francis Nacion and Bernadette delos Santos, also known as Bidibidi, to work together under Art Lounge Manila.
Francis Nacion has been exhibiting for more than a decade now. His works are recognizable for the brightly colored half-faced characters often portrayed in genres of happy and contented people basking in bountiful harvests, families spending time together at home, romantic serenades and friends having fun. Thus, his works are said to bring the subjects of Amorsolo and his ilk to the contemporary. His pieces are also meticulously rendered in sgraffito (etched or scratched on the wet oil paint) to create fantastic patterns on clothes and similar open surfaces that are akin to beautiful embroidery or textile patterns.
Bidibidi, on the other hand, prefers to paint colorful flowers, but has also what she calls an “artivist” practice of including underemployed farmers wives into her social enterprise by providing them with original embroidery patterns which they then interpret, simultaneously providing much needed livelihood to them and preserving the tradition, which her community in Ba’ao, Camarines Sur was once famous for.
“My mother loved sewing. Bidibidi’s practice reminds me of her, and by collaborating with her, I get to honor my mother in a roundabout way,” says Francis Nacion. “Her works also remind me of the vibrancy of my home province of Aklan, with its ati-atihan.”
“I am overwhelmed,” says Bidibidi after their first meeting. “Francis is an established artist, a master in the making, and for him to notice what we do is not just a compliment of the highest order. An affirmation of what we do is like what his paintings do: they bring joy and uplift the spirit.”
The collaboration of Nacion x Bidibidi, though unexpected from the different mediums they use, is intuitive and seamless. Both celebrate the hallmarks of Filipino temperament and culture, as Amorsolo and other genre artists have done before them. They celebrate what is good in our culture, and remind us of what truly matters.
“Nacion x Bidibidi” will be on view until September 16 at Art Lounge Manila – The Podium.
For inquiries, message or email at info@artloungemanila.com. You can also visit www.artloungemanila.com for further details.
