BUEN CALUBAYAN (Filipino, B. 1980)

Impressionistic in technique and narrative, Demo on How Myths Are Made (Lot 680), is a restless picture-inchoate, indistinct, and open to interpretation. Calubayan deems the phrase "controlled chaos" an accurate description of his work on several levels. Globs of pigment rush to the center, forming a hillock of indeterminate composition. Gentle waves of burgundy ebb in from the right, mirrored overhead by a swath of sapphire sky. The movement leads the eye left-of-center, where a group of five individuals has gathered.
The five figures anchor us within the swirling chaos of colours and brush strokes, and culminate in a visual representation of the act of remembering. Recalling a pastoral simplicity tied to associations of family, and gatherings by the beach, Calubayan searches for this lost innocence within his canvas. The painter breaks the fourth wall through the leftmost figure as she gazes out of the canvas toward the viewer with baited anticipation. A commentary on the construction of myth as the reconfiguration of shared memory, Demo on How Myths Are Made awaits the perspective of the viewer for its completion.