Coming from an illustrious family of painters, Marcel Antonio is one of the Philippines' contemporary painters most proficient in the magic realist sort of post expressionism style in the country. Shown here is Mercury, in which he succinctly demonstrates a playful contrast of bright colors in the sea of melancholia. The figures remain like actors on a surreal stage. The inclusion of such storybook motifs shows that Antonio has moved away from purely representational themes and is prepared to include off-kilter storytelling touches to his work.