Sculpture by Ovvian Castrillo-Hill and site-specific installation by Moralde Arrogante featured in inaugural exhibit with theater of light
The unveiling of the Ayala Triangle Gardens on Nov. 19 will be marked by an exhibit of abstract sculpture and kinetic installations and a Christmas-themed theater of lights.

Located at the heart of the Central Business District, this will be the biggest public landscape--20,000 sq. m. of well-manicured lawns, tree-lined pathways and Wifi zones powered by Globe--in Makati. The Ayala Triangle Gardens will serve as a tropical pedestrian corridor which links people coming from Legaspi and Salcedo Village to other offices, shopping centers and commuter stations.

Although this new public space behind Tower One will primarily cater to office workers, it also aims to be a haven for families. The transformation of Tower One’s backyard to a garden-and-events venue offering family-friendly programs highlights Ayala Land’s democratic streak that seeks to make the arts accessible to the public and appealing to all ages.

For its initial art show, Ayala Triangle Gardens will feature the sculptures of Ovvian Castrillo-Hill, daughter of renowned sculptor Eduardo Castrillo, and the site-specific works of Moralde Arrogante.

From Nov. 20 to Dec. 24, from Monday to Friday, 6 to 7:30 p.m, the garden will present three 10-minute light and sound shows every 30 minutes, created by light designer Voltaire de Jesus and sound designer Jethro Joaquin. The themes will feature medleys celebrating Christ’s birth, Filipino Christmas songs and community celebrations.

LIGHT FANTASTIC

Such unique events make Ayala Triangle Gardens not only an oasis in the CBD but also a cultural destination place.

No pyrotechnics here. This landmark show integrates lighting design with nature, buildings and the audience. The theater of light will be an awesome experience because the images are ephemeral, and constantly changing while moving in perfect synchronicity with the music and sound effects.

De Jesus and Joaquin are theater arts graduates from the University of the Philippines with their own respective companies. They have worked extensively with theater productions and corporate events.

Winner of Filstage’s Gawad Buhay for Outstanding Sound Design, Joaquin’s scoring is inspired by Christmas songs. He incorporates electronic music, live music, indigenous instruments such as the Jew’s harp, the local flute, the bamboo buzzer, gongs and the nose flute with everyday sounds such as chirping of the crickets. Ultimately, the finished product is world music that will get the audience to tapping their fingers or even dancing.

De Jesus based his lighting design on the scoring. He will utilize Tivoli lights cascading from the trees that flicker with the music; light-emitting diode (LED) lights for sparkle and intelligent lights that create patterns such as snowflakes, Christmas bells, Philippine lanterns and vivid colors. The lights will be dancing from the audience to the trees to Tower One’s canopy.

De Jesus promises to use the lights judiciously. Just imagine playful images of lanterns and shifting colors moving to Joaquin’s arrangement of “Pasko na Naman.”

Sculpting spaces

Canada-based abstract expressionist Castrillo-Hill says she sees parallelisms with her pregnancy and the park’s inaugural exhibit. “This project was perfect for me,” says the artist who is due to give birth in the Christmas season. “I’ve known the Ayala Triangle as a forest. Now it has taken rebirth as a park. It’s at the same phase with my life and my work as an artist. I’ve started to use new materials-stainless steel and marble.”

The garden has installed 10 of her works, static and abstract objects of varying sizes in brass and iron as well, that have been cut and welded to form interesting patterns.

Graceful shapes of brilliantly polished metal translates this sculptor’s association with reflective surfaces into a subtle experience. Her curving exteriors cast distorted reflections of its environment-the park, the sky, the onlooker. It makes itself seem expansive because of the mirror images. .

Castrillo-Hill’s art performs the primary exchange of public sculpture. People can literally see themselves in the reflective finishes; her upbeat shapes communicate ideas of bonding and community.

There are obscure sculptures evoking the family; subtle swirls caught in an embrace that express love; rings of stainless steel symbolize convergence, and was retitled “Simbang Gabi.” There are opaque surfaces as well such as three jagged marble figures, symbolic of the Three Kings, each crowned with a gleaming brass band.

She credits her father for inspiring her to think out of the box. She recalls that in her childhood, her father brought Styrofoam sheets which he fashioned into Christmas trees.

“It opened my eyes to thinking in three-dimensions,” she says. “Art can be subtle. As an abstract expressionist, I’m championing that people develop discernment. When people appreciate the humanities, that’s when a society gets better.”

Scrap art

The exhibit of Ral Arrogante is in collaboration with Art Cabinet Philippines, organizes shows in alternative venues.

Arrogante’s art from scraps has set out to reach a wider audience more directly. He removed the sculpture’s pedestal and drew images from daily life. He started his art as a hobby, fashioning fancy pieces from junkyards. He began with scrap metal but his works eventually got rusty. Now he favors copper and brass which are not only more pliable but oxidize easily for an aged look.

His lack of formal technique such as welding turned out to be an asset. By joining parts through handwork such as tying and crimping has enable him to create works which are evocative of figures and objects. Kids enjoy his assemblages because of their whimsical themes. Mothers admire his patience in producing them. Fathers are familiar with the hardware that Arrogante uses such as computer chips, automobile or electronic parts.

Arrogante doesn’t make scale models. He says his materials dictate the scale of his works. For this exhibit, he created wind vanes to amuse the audience. There are angels blowing trumpets and birds, made of colored galvanized sheets, to symbolize harbingers of news and airplanes and helicopters, hovering the green patches of landscape. The fish is made out of car piston with copper and brass junk. A mobile features breaks dangling from a pneumatic air pump. As a tribute to Ayala Triangle Garden’s earlier incarnation as an airfield, an airplane features twirling propellers made of brass sheets, the rib from light meter gears and wings from industrial filters. The helicopter is also made from scrap brass and copper tubes from industrial air conditioners. Another interesting feature is the Globe Art Talk which provides information on the art pieces on exhibit. One can access such information through SMS (short messaging service) or MMS (multi-media service). The Art Talk is the first of its kind in the country.

These artworks can be purchased by BPI cardholders.

Geraldine Araneta, director of Art Cabinet, points out how public art and public landscape complement each other. “We’d like to take shows to venues where many people come so that you don’t worry about getting them inside a gallery.” To make it more accessible, she cites, “The idea of public art is that there has to be a wow factor.”