Art Talks

Reimagining The Archives: Art as a Locus of Memory

Imahica Art’s first backroom exhibition entitled “Traces” showcases a carefully curated selection of works. Art, as we know, continuously evolves. With the proliferation of new mediums, materials, and techniques, artists find new and more creative ways to innovate and create. Traces encapsulates the bridge that connects the present from its origin with the use of memory.

Slowly but surely, Philippine art is slowly getting recognized on a global scale. Our culture is at the stage of learning how to fully appreciate the beauty and narratives in visual works of all kinds. A collection as wide and experimental as this successfully highlights the use of innovative art practices in seemingly traditional characteristics. In returning to it, we open the door for new contexts and narratives. Between the brushstrokes lie recollections of memory, from artists and viewers alike, and the intention or displaying them again for reexamination connects new meanings to old memories.

In the ever-changing world that we live in, Traces allows for reinvention. The exhibition interrogates the concept of the archive as a repository of memory and artist history. It highlights the idea that past works, while often seen as static and distant, brings forth new meanings when reexamined through the lens of contemporary art. Art is not contained to holding history, but lets itself shape the present through remembrance of the past. Distinct art styles underlines not only the difference in techniques but also the evolution of contemporary art through the eyes of these unique artists.

A collection as wide and experimental as this successfully highlights the use of innovative art practices in seemingly traditional characteristics. In returning to it, we open the door for new contexts and narratives. Between the brushstrokes lie recollections of memory, from artists and viewers alike, and the intention or displaying them again for reexamination connects new meanings to old memories.

The exhibition successfully integrates the most know philosophy of Heraclitus. No man can step in the same river twice, for he is not the same man and it will never be the same river. This serves as a chance — to return, remember, and explore the artistic potential of the archives in shaping contemporary presentation.

Artists on Display: Cid Reyes, Erzi Kho-Morales, Renalli Trajano, Valen Valero, Ivy Pangilinan, Ram Mallari, Christian Regis, Sam Penaso, Pancho Piano, Agi Pagkatipunan, Ding Royales, Julie Lluch, Ed Arcilla, Lhean Storm