If You Saw A Lightning, Listen.
Light travels faster than sound. You see it first before you hear it. And just like thunder, Arel Zambarrano and Leoniel Cerbas once again proved that working in silence will soon enough create a noise loud enough to awaken one’s dozing senses through their two-man show entitled Dagu-ob that was unveiled at gallery i last 19 November 2018.
The show creeps into the soul of the audience with their subtle presentation with a penetrating assertion of the society’s present-day situation. The works of Zambarrano and Cerbas were screaming words of defeat from a bloodless war; suffering from seeking the elusive truth; discontentment from eternal pointless answers given to the people asking for justice, and we are all howling for help like an endangered species waiting to be saved from its noxious culture.
Zambarrano’s series of works has an unexplainable force in it that would make you want to dive deep into its darkness to see a bed of treasure waiting to be discovered by your own naked eyes. But the truth is, we don’t need to go deeper, the empty words, nonsense explanation, hollow promises paired with dirty mouth are more than enough for us to see the real treasure- the truth that we are the culprit and the victim of this society.
His “Intsik Instsik Nga Galunggong” art installation welcomed the visitors of the gallery. Made of welded knives shaped into fish placed on top of stacked banyera and poured with tons of salt, this masterpiece left everyone in owing and eagerness to decipher the meaning of the work laid before their very own fantasy. Zambarrano through this work wanted to challenge and make every single person who will see their show ask themselves, “Is the Philippines an archipelago for nothing?”.
Cerbas, on the other hand, wanted to remind us that in this fast-changing world, we are our own weapon. He showed a different side of his artistic expression, far from his detailed and mostly realism works. In Dagu-ob he showed flawless lines, intricate but in a bold manner and delicate just like our journey towards self-realization and the constant search for our real purpose.
Cerbas in his series of works delivered a clear message- a reminder of our uniqueness as an individual. Faith and social status might divide us, but in this realm we call life, it is our human nature to use ourselves as a weapon to win against our own personal battles- our contrivances.
Both Zambarrano and Cerbas’ works left a mark to every person who visited their show. They made a constant reminder to make an imperative noise- that one that will reach those in the highest but most importantly, the people in the grass root of the society. Dagu-ob exhibition would tickle your belief in many ways. It will surely open your eyes and lead you to see more than what is visible and listen more than to what is audible.
Photos by ATMOS.PH