In “False Faces,” two artists see masks as conduits, rather than obstructions, between the self and the world. This is perhaps their way of seeing things in another perspective, an attempt out of falsehood and into their personal truth.

 

“False Faces,” a joint exhibit featuring the works of Pam Celeridad and Alfred Marasigan, is One Manila Gallery’s latest show. It will open on May 22 at the Big Bad Wolf at Burgos Circle, Taguig City, and will run until June 20.

 

The two artists play with the subject of masks. Celeridad draws inspiration from science, history and pop culture, while Marasigan deals with “personal masks.”

 

Marasigan, a part-time lecturer in the Fine Arts program of Ateneo de Manila University, said he “envisioned the theme ‘False Faces’ in two ways: Via the act of breathing, masks are conduits (instead of obstructions) between the self and the world; and the primal self is an internal terrain.”

 

“My works for ‘False Faces’ attempt to incorporate more realism into my works since I used to almost always render figures in mild cubism,” he said. “I also think these works exhibit more fauvist tendencies than my previous paintings since I have consciously mixed and matched appropriate color hues to their corresponding values.”

 

Marasigan depicts nebulizer in his artwork to symbolize his asthma-filled childhood; chewing gum for his mild lockjaw episodes; and snorkeling mask for his inability to swim.

 

“I have never actually had any significant experiences with masks per se, so I tried a different approach and reflected on the objects that I have engaged with and have obstructed most of my face,” he said.

 

Marasigan said he always depicted boxes and stars in all of his works because of their manifestations of the three main concepts he was fascinated in: first, the interplay of the real and the abstract; second, art as locus of personal narrative and identity formation; and third, the negotiation of the self with his or her context, landscape or space.

 

One of Marasigan’s artworks, a mixed-media titled “Icarus,” is an attempt to express multidimensionality while using the popular mythology about founded but careless ambition.

 

One Manila Gallery is at 24-C Malingap St., Teacher’s Village, Quezon City. Call tel. 0917-8684486.