Labas Paloob

Renz Baluyot’s newest solo presentation is the culmination of his residencies outside the Philippines. The series of works in the exhibition reflects his underlying motivation to create outside familiar environments. These residencies entail rigorous work and demand a significant amount of preparation. Baluyot draws themes from recently concluded artist residencies in Virginia, New York, and Malaysia.

1 He takes this as an opportunity to experiment with materials and to pursue process-based production that will only be possible in a given space and time for art-making. In a set of drawings, he documents everyday scenes from these places, capturing singular moments of his surroundings. He employs a subtractive approach to his drawings, erasing darker shades of graphite to reveal subtle layers of light, evoking heightened emotions within seemingly isolated environments.

The subtractive approach in Baluyot’s process is also echoed in his textile works. Using rust to create images and patterns on fabric, Baluyot adapts techniques involved in batik mark-making. He covers areas of the fabric with wax to resist the absorption of rust when dyeing. The fabric is then submerged in boiling water to melt the wax off and reveal the image beneath. The use of rust underscores a recurring theme he has long been exploring in his practice: urban decay and industrial degradation. This theme is present in his paintings of tarpaulin-covered objects, a series he started years ago. Unlike his first few paintings of the same subject, his new works depict the subject against a plain background, isolated and removed from their usual context. By concealing the object, he explores absence and presence, showing how meaning can emerge from what is revealed and what remains hidden.

In this exhibition, Baluyot experiments not only with materials and processes, as hinted by the use of actual copper in his initial studies. His text-based pieces bring forth a more conceptual approach to the subject matter. Combining cut-out texts and drawings onto copper-tinted paper, his text-based compositions highlight the linguistic roots between Filipino and some Malay words such as “Lupa,” “Bendera,” “Tangis,” “Landasan” and “Mahal.” These words retained their original contexts and resisted the impact of colonial influence. His play on words injects humor while carrying socio-political undertones. Resistance is central to this particular—and likely significant—body of work by Baluyot, shaping both its concept and the process of his image-making.

The exhibition posits the necessity of looking inward and journeying outward as important aspects of his artistic practice. Labas Paloob is Baluyot’s way of introspecting, which, in Baluyot’s own words, is possible through quietude and pause.

1 Renz Baluyot attended the following residencies in this year alone: Rimbun Dahan (Malaysia), Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency (New York, US), and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (Virginia, US).