RODEL TAPAYA

Winner of the prestigious 2011 APB-Signature Art Prize, the heart of Rodel Tapaya's work is his on-going amalgamation of folk narrative and contemporary reality within the framework of memory and history. Utilising a range of media, Tapaya filters his observations of the world from existing texts of folktale and pre-colonial historical research to create often a whimsical montage of his characters. Each work has its origin in Tapaya's own reflection of a particular time or place with an enduring resonance. Magic Journey (Lot 2513) portrays Tapaya's mythical universe, depicting a ubiquitous face-mask of folk-aesthetic often seen throughout his compositions, juxtaposed against a forested background woven through with magical flora and fauna. It is an enigmatic adventure for a viewer, a rare glimpse into a parallel landscape often hidden from our view and conjured only through Tapaya's vivid lens. The loaded shrubbery, fully blossoming flowers, and animalistic creatures against the vibrant red background reveal the metaphysical journey undertaken by the creator as he treks through the historical past and contemporary present, to emerge within an Eden rendered directly from his imagination.