Taghiyawat na Naging Nunal, presented through an ESC 2024 grant

 

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐲𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐥

An ESC Project by Mae Aguinaldo-Mapa

Nov 9-30, 2024

First United Building, Escolta, Manila

Opening reception on Nov 9, 2024

Storybook & Storymaking Corner on Nov 9 & 30, 2024 (Part of Hola Escolta on November 30!)

For children, imagination is second nature. As we grow older, we learn that not everything is possible. Our aptitude to imagine boundlessly eventually finds corners and walls as we get acquainted with reality.

“Taghiyawat Na Naging Nunal” is an attempt to bring back our childlike way of thinking and looking at the world. In this project, artist Mae Aguinaldo-Mapa starts with doodling beings that do not exist in the real world. These ‘imagined creatures’ (as she calls them) later gain a corporeal form as she handsews each figure. Initially living in her mind, the imagined creatures materialize into soft sculptures that others can now see.

By manner of play and design, the artist installs them in dark corners or unusual spaces, making them appear like specters. She then documents these ephemeral stagings by taking photos, having them printed, and storing them in an album. Thus creating another footprint of their existence.

At this stage, the creature is still transfiguring. Intending “Taghiyawat Na Naging Nunal” as a participatory art project, Aguinaldo-Mapa also invites viewers to be co-creators. In each iteration of the project (first in Bangkok in 2019, then in Singapore in 2020, and now in Manila), she has been asking participants of varying ages to tell stories about these creatures. When looking at unrecognizable forms, such question naturally arises: What am I looking at?

This rekindling of curiosity is when the pimple turns into a mole. What we thought of as something that was just temporary was, in reality, enduring. For adults, our imagination can still get second wind.

Words by Lk Rigor @ellekaie

Poster design by Max Vieja @apatheticmax._

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Join us on the opening and closing day which features a Storybook & Storymaking corner! Register using these links:

Opening on Nov 9: https://bit.ly/98b-tnnn-nov9

Closing on Nov 30: https://bit.ly/98b-tnnn-nov30

98b's instagram post about the event here.

Photos on the opening day. We activated this wall in the lobby of First United Building, a heritage building in Escolta, Manila that is nearly a century old.

Photos of the gathering for the Storybook and Storymaking corner during opening day.

Photo of the opening-day only installation.

For a time over the duration of the exhibition, the images hung out with sculptures by Leeroy New in the building lobby. 

Photo of the gathering for the Storybook and Storymaking corner during Hola Escolta.

All three iterations of the Taghiyawat na Naging Nunal (A Pimple that became a Mole) project presentation - first in Bangkok c/o Buro 57, then in Singapore, and then in Escolta, Manila.