Sacred or Scared?

JUST  got this in the mail today -- Norberto "Peewee" Roldan will be having a show here this month. It's called "New Profane" and runs from cocktails on 26 November to 21 December (where, hopefully, there will be another round of cocktails). I know Peewee from Manila, where he's become a reliable source whenever I'm writing something about the art scene. He runs the "Green Papaya" gallery in Quezon City's Kamuning area. It used to be located in UP Village, and I remember one story I did which scared off a few galleries in small world Manila.

Since Green Papaya is a not-for-profit cooperative gallery, it would occasionaly hold fund-raising events to raise money for its rent and utilities. One time, Peewee decided to sell his art inventory at a discount, during a "night market". Peewee, of course, has a fabulous portfolio because he's been showing Manila's important young artists before they even became important. By then, some of the artists were already being handled by bigger galleries, who didn't like the idea that a collector who'd pay P30,000 could instead wait for the weekend, head to Peewee's UP Village gallery, have some drinks, and pay only P15,000 for art. 

From scaring capitalist art galleries, Peewee now paints the sacred. According to the invite,  "Sacred is the New Profane" is a series of mixed-media works examining the twin concepts of sacredness and profanity. What is sacred? What is profane? Two words which suggest dichotomy, could either be one or the other at the same time. 

Peewee's works "engages with the deliberate placement of found objects, featuring the peculiar use of medicine cabinets, altar boxes, and framed constructions, to question what we hold sacred in contemporary society."

My tip: You should see this right before or right after "Land Of The Morning: The Philippines And Its People" at the Asian Civilisations Museum where antique religious figurines and statues are also on display -- this time with no trace of irony.  Seeing both exhibits will give you a clear idea of how the Philippines may be a Catholic nation, but Filipinos have very varying views on what that means.

Peewee, originally from Negros, was one of the founders of the BAA (Black Artists of Asia) and his works are in the Singapore Art Museum collection. For a more academic reading of Roldan, click here.

Catch Norberto Roldan's solo exhibition, "New Profane," at TAKSU Singapore (Block 43 Workloft@Chip Bee |#01-72 Jalan Merah Saga |Holland Village | Singapore 278115 | sing@taksu.com) from 26 November to 21 December.