Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist

Exhibited: Yavuz Gallery, Above Sea Level, Singapore, August 26 - September 16, 2018

ABOUT THE WORK

Ronson Culibrina's Sea of Change further explores the artist's escalating concerns about the future of the natural environment and man's fate under a detrimental development masquerading behind technological progress. The piece was among the works showcased in Culibrina's first solo exhibition with Yavuz Gallery, Singapore, titled Above Sea Level, which presents playful yet poignant images of a coastal town's painful and blistering destruction. Inspired by the artist's formative years in his hometown of Talim Island in Rizal Province, Culibrina presents harrowing depictions of environmental decline with references to pop culture. Culibrina's native Talim Island, a thriving community situated in the middle of Laguna de Bay, has been suffering from the dangerous accumulation of toxic pollutants, such as plastic wastes, resulting from negligent industries and the overall lack of proper sewage facilities to treat wastewater before it flows to the lake. In a 2020 Philippine Star article, Culibrina says that he saw his hometown transform "from a quiet, fishing town into a busy urban area," fueling his "fascination with the clash between tradition and modernity." In Culibrina's Sea of Change, the artist portrays a scene from Talim Island: a disturbing image of a fisherman standing at the edge of a wooden pier. His boat is in an almost upturned orientation. Familiar images from the iconographies of international artists appear. The man wears a virtual reality (VR) box headset, with his neck wrapped around in Jeff Koons' balloon figures, a bunch of which can be seen tied up to a post. Yayoi Kusama's polkadotted tentacles rise from the water, with one of its limbs replacing the man's left hand. By juxtaposing traditional and familiar scenes with images associated with capitalism and consumerism, Culibrina cleverly paints a picture of environmental degradation by forces of destructive contemporary technologies, leading to unsustainable progress. The man wearing a VR headset symbolizes a poignant reminder of days gone by, signifying that the vibrant past and hopes of sustainable progress are now only visible through the lens of virtual reality, or is it? Are we collectively willing to turn a mere virtual reality into an actual reality? (A.M.)