ABOUT THE WORK

The subjects of this group picture seem to be facing a turn of the century daguerreotype cameraman for a turn of the century sepia picture. However, if there was no imaginary audience implied by this picture, there is nevertheless a real one: the audience. And the sepia color is most likely made of coffee. Vincent Francisco Navarro, from Baguio City, Philippines, was an emerging visual artist who uses ground coffee as the main medium of his art. He collects used coffee grounds and recycles them as paint, thus giving the waste product new value and purpose through aesthetics. Inspired by the months he spent as volunteer aiding cofee farmers in Benguet and Cordillera, Navarro created his works as tributes to the “toil and sweat”. These hard-working people put into growing “the best-tasting and rich coffee beans”. Vincent Francisco Navarro was the rising star of the Baguio art world. For “Re:View,” the yearend exhibit of Bencab Museum for 2015, the 23-year-old Navarro was the youngest painter selected along with National Artist Arturo Luz, Pandy Aviado, Emmanuel Garibay, Ramon Orlina, Kawayan de Guia, Rodel Tapaya, Leeroy New and Winner Jumalon. He was at the height of his talent and success when he died. But like a shot of strong coffee, his death will leave us sleepless for a long time.