MO_Space gallery hosts a conversation on how eco-printed wearable art can cure society’s “plant blindness,” sparking a deeper love for the natural world
In Greek mythology, “Prometheus Bound” tells the story of the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity. As punishment, Zeus sentenced Prometheus to be chained to a rock—earthbound—where a bird of prey would descend daily to eat his regenerating liver, ensuring never-ending agony.
Over 2,500 years after the myth was first told in ancient Greece, we are still confronted with the reality that, like Prometheus, we are bound to the Earth, both literally and metaphorically.
Despite this grounding, we are uniquely equipped with the power to reshape the world around us. From the Paleolithic tools we first used for hunting to the groundbreaking inventions and innovations that now, for better or worse, shape the modern world, we have become the architects of our own existence.
To be earthbound is not simply to exist on this planet; it is to struggle, dream, and course-correct even when the odds are stacked against us.
In this spirit, a diverse collective of visual artists, fashion designers, art historians, curators, and gallerists came together to grapple with the existential reality of being earthbound. The fundamental question was: What is humanity’s role in healing and nurturing our home, our planet Earth?
Presented by MO_Space, the collaboration between visual artists Geraldine Javier and Marionne Contreras, and fashion designer Steffi Cua results in “Earthbound,” a collection of wearable art that captures this tension—the struggle to not only exist here but also to thrive, to heal, to love, and to reconcile our place in the fragile world we inhabit.
“Things really fall into place when the core idea resonates with every artist involved, and when Geraldine has brought together such a carefully chosen team. There’s an undeniable energy that comes from that alignment, and it’s amazing to see how it all comes together. I don’t want to focus too much on gender but I feel that this collaboration is a testament to ‘Girl Power!’” shares MO_Space gallerist Mawen Ong.
As I moderated the roundtable discussion, Ong, art historian Tony Godfrey, and curator and writer of the “Earthbound” exhibition statement Stephanie Frondoso joined Javier, Contreras, and Cua to explore how contemporary art and fashion can awaken us to a deeper understanding of our environment.
Could an art and fashion collaboration trigger the deep love we’ve lost for the Earth? Could it cure our disconnect from the natural world?
These artists and thinkers offered their insights, suggesting that perhaps through creative collaboration, we might find a way back to the earth—not as prisoners like the Greek hero Prometheus, but as protectors.
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Patrick de Veyra [PDV]: How did “Earthbound” as a project come about?
Geraldine Javier [GJ]: I first thought about “Earthbound” as a concept right after my solo show “A Tree is Not a Forest” at Silverlens in 2023. Ever since we began working with eco-printed fabrics, we would drape the beautiful prints over our bodies, imagining them as clothing. I thought to myself that these eco-printed textiles would make great clothes, but I didn’t know anyone who could sew. Finding seamstresses these days is difficult, to the point that it feels like the vocation is nearly extinct. I know of a few who still make uniforms and basketball jerseys, but I miss the days when there were more seamstresses who could craft more sophisticated clothing.
I’m deeply engrossed in and passionate about eco-printing, and I know that Marionne Contreras also works with this technique. That’s why I invited her to exhibit with me at MO_Space. With Marionne on board, I envisioned expanding our practice to not only extend to fashion but also explore the environmental impact of fashion in contemporary life. This desire to tackle fashion within the context of contemporary art led me to meet Steffi Cua, a fashion designer who is also a relative of Kelvin and Maggie Ngo, a couple who collects Philippine contemporary art.
Steffi Cua [SC]: That’s how the “Earthbound” trio came about.
GJ: The general inspiration for the tapestries is the four seasons. In each one, I aimed to capture the colors, the growth of plants, and the animals active during a particular season. It’s like archiving what the four seasons look like, at least up until now. But with the deepening climate crisis, unpredictability has become the new norm. Seasons are becoming unpredictable—floods are occurring in areas that don’t typically experience rainy seasons, rainforests are disappearing, drying up, and turning into deserts. Autumn came late in Japan this year. It feels as though the only predictable event now is the cataclysmic changes we’re witnessing.
Marionne Contreras (MC): Geraldine and I were discussing the concept of the four seasons, and although we live in an equatorial country where we only experience two seasons, the climate crisis is a global issue that affects us all. For my contribution to the show, I used prints as my medium, approaching it intuitively and in relation to human experience. I responded to the idea of the seasons by pairing them—spring and autumn, winter and summer—creating a dialogue between the contrasts and connections within these cycles.
Geraldine, how do you position your current work, which explores fashion and wearable art, within the larger context of your artistic practice?
GJ: I included the scientific names of the plants on the labels so that anyone interested in learning more about the effects of specific plants in the eco-printing process can use them as visual references. Essentially, I’ve already done the groundwork, covering the leaves and plants the next generation of artists and art enthusiasts can use, most of which are native to the Philippines and indigenous to Southeast Asia, some even endemic.
When I first started eco-printing, the literature available to me was focused on plants that were completely foreign to our region. There was no mention of native plants in the resources I came across. So, I decided to do my own research, experimenting with plants that are locally available here in the Philippines.
Tony Godfrey [TG]: It’s an experiment. How do you take a collaborative project like this and make it work as art, as design, and as an exhibition? The more I think about it, the more I realize we need more of the bamboo stands. Once the garments are on those stands, they transform into sculptures—three-dimensional, intricate. Imagine having them spread out in the space. For me, that would be fascinating: just the garments, nothing else. The experiment has brought so many elements together.
Stephanie Frondoso [SF]: There’s also an educational aspect to this collaboration. During Geraldine’s Silverlens show, she hosted a workshop where visitors could learn how to eco-print onto shirts and T-shirts. As part of the curatorial design of “Earthbound” here at MO_Space, we also displayed several eco-prints on the wall, each one illustrating the intricacies of the eco-printing process. It’s about not just showcasing the work but also offering a deeper understanding of how it’s made.
Marionne and Steffi, what has it been like working with Geraldine, especially since she chose both of you to collaborate with?
Marionne Contreras [MC]: I’ve known Geraldine for a few years now, but this is our first time collaborating. It just so happened that our studio practices aligned at the right moment. When I was told about the show, I was about to begin my residency in Malaysia, where my proposed project was to further explore eco-printing techniques. I’ve always wanted to create my own textile designs, so researching textile-making techniques has become an important part of my studio practice.
I’ve never been fond of commercially printed fabrics; I find them too graphic. I’m drawn to the watercolor-like quality of eco-printing. We envisioned this show as something fun, especially since we would be making clothes.
GJ: I think what’s foremost on people’s minds are questions like, ‘What are they doing? Why are they doing this? Is this even art?’ But I believe you can’t experiment and break boundaries if you let these questions bog you down.
MC: Sometimes you just need a push to make something big.
SF: There’s an installation in the main space featuring T-shirts. Coming from the art world, this is aimed at beginning collectors, but in the design world, it’s referred to as a bridge line. It serves as an entry point for those interested in collecting their eco-printed wearable art. There’s something for everyone.
SC: As a fashion designer, sustainability has always been at the core of my concerns. The fashion industry is one of the most wasteful and polluting sectors in the world, which is why I chose to embrace slow fashion. It’s my way of responding to the environmental crisis. I believe in creating a practice centered on sustainability. When Geraldine and Marionne brought me the concept for “Earthbound,” it felt like a perfect fit. The dyes we used come from the Earth itself, and there’s a deep sense of rootedness to nature in this collection. It’s a return to the source—the origin of everything. Slow fashion, ecology, a love for nature, and a reconnection to the earth—it all just made perfect sense to me.
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Tony, from the perspective of an art historian and curator, how do you see Philippine contemporary artists who address ecological themes within the context of global art discourse?
TG: Gosh.
PDV: Taking Geraldine as an example, she has been a profound force who continues to reshape how nature and environmental issues are perceived within the landscape of contemporary art. With this new series, we see her move beyond the familiar contours of her studio practice. It’s no longer just about the studio work we are familiar with, but about bridging disparate disciplines—contemporary art, fashion design, and textile design.
TG: I think what Geraldine really talks about is not really about ecology but her love affair with nature. And I think that is really the key. It’s not about marching down the street with signs shouting “Stop eating meat!” or “Wear biodegradable clothes!” It’s about doing, about action. The essence of her work lies not in the statement but in the process itself.
Through the act of making, we begin to grasp what she is truly expressing. The creation of the work and its meaning are inseparable from each other. There are no slogans, but there is a philosophy. Oftentimes, we think in terms of slogans when discussing ecological issues within contemporary art, but in this exhibition, I saw in Geraldine a deep personal love for nature. No slogans, just a quiet and deep love for the natural world.
Stephanie, having written the curatorial text for “Earthbound,” how did you help shape the artists’ conceptual framework to bring their collaborative work closer to the people?
SF: There’s a practicality to this show that sets it apart from others that are mostly about presenting sculpture and painting. “Earthbound” is different because a key concept is the ability to interact with the wearable art—people trying on clothes, having a changing room. Additionally, we transformed MO_Space into a forest.
By the entrance of the gallery is an installation of bamboo poles with T-shirts, arranged like a copse of trees. The clothing on individual bamboo stands was positioned organically so that audiences could weave around them, like a human would do when walking through a forest. More bamboo poles were suspended from the ceiling so they could act like tree canopy, much like being in a forest where foliage is not just low on the ground but also reaching above us.
Mawen, from the point of view of a gallerist, what excites you the most about “Earthbound?”
Mawen Ong [MO]: It’s just too exciting for me, much like your raw reaction, Patrick, when you first stepped into the gallery and saw the “Earthbound” collaborative works. There’s a certain level of comfort we’ve all gotten used to, especially now that art is reaching a much broader audience. Artists have become more savvy, more refined in what they do.
I’ve known Geraldine for over 20 years, since the first time I saw her West Gallery show at Megamall. And I’ve watched her work evolve from one medium to the next, branching out in so many directions. So when Geraldine told me, “Mawen, be ready. Prepare yourself, because we’re going to do something different for this show,” I thought, “What’s new? Geraldine is always doing something exciting.”
When I saw the clothes for the first time yesterday, I was truly speechless for at least two hours. Personally, having been in the garment business for eight years, designing clothes with friends—this was the reason I left the UP College of Fine Arts—it felt like everything had come full circle in the “Earthbound” collaboration. I feel like this show has reached a level where it no longer matters what others think. We’re just happy that we did it, that the artists reached this point without worrying about public opinion.
Marionne, what did you mean by, “Sometimes you just need a push to make something big”?
MC: What I meant by “big” wasn’t about scale, but rather about intention. Something that grows, something that holds the potential for more. It’s a completely different experience when you first see the fabric, the flat eco-printed textiles, and then see them transformed into beautifully designed clothing. It’s like developing a new relationship with the prints themselves. It’s hard to describe, but it’s a feeling. Steffi and I were exchanging private messages, and I remember telling her once, “Steffi, I don’t like this print. I messed it up. Should I still send it to you?” And she responded, “Sure! Send it over.”
Now, seeing that “messed-up” print in the context of wearable art, I’ve developed an entirely new relationship with it. Sometimes we can be too critical of our own process, or we get too focused on the science of things, especially with dyeing. It’s always surprising. You don’t always get the results you expect. That’s why, seeing my textile design take the form of a garment, changes how I relate to my own work—it brings back that feeling of love.
Steffi, how did you develop the visual language of the “Earthbound” collection, balancing your aesthetic sensibility with wearability?
SC: For this particular collection, I began by deeply engaging with the practices of Geraldine and Marionne. I wanted to understand how their visual languages were shaped by nature, and how their relationship with the natural world informed the shapes and concepts they work with. Most of the patterns are spherical, like globes or seeds.
My goal was to highlight their textiles, not compete with their print motifs, which are rooted in the natural world. I wanted to preserve the purity of their work, creating a kind of capsule to hold and frame them. If you think about a sphere, it mirrors the form of the Earth itself, so you’ll notice a lot of roundness in the silhouettes of the clothes. It was all about creating harmony between their work and the structure of the garments.
GJ: There’s a closed seed, a seed opening up, and a seed developing into a flower.
SC: Yes, it’s the journey of a seed becoming a flower. This is evident in the way the patterns were meticulously created and cut for each garment. The process is a reflection of growth and transformation within the natural world, woven seamlessly into the design philosophy of the collection.
SF: She also did zero waste. Initially there were 50 looks and then she kept trying to save the fabric until there were 80 looks and then it reached a hundred.
SC: So I would always tell Marionne and Geraldine, “Send me whatever fabrics that you have.” And I just tried to use every bit of all the fabrics that they sent me.
The garments embody zero waste yet remain fashion-forward. They embrace slow fashion while also being wearable contemporary art. What do you think or feel about the garments you’ve created?
GJ: Perfect. It’s a dream project. Yesterday, when I saw the clothes for the first time, I was moved to tears. I’ve had countless shows with large tapestry pieces, but this was the first time I’ve felt that kind of emotional response to my own work. I never imagined this could happen.
I’m naturally shy, and I never thought I’d be collaborating with artists and fashion designers to bring an idea to life. Fashion designers have always intimidated me, but I feel that Steffi is absolutely perfect for this project. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure how to position myself within this collaboration—should the eco-printing come first? Should the fashion design take precedence? It was a process of discovery, one that unfolded in a way I hadn’t expected.
PDV: That’s how magic begins.
GJ: There were actually some of my eco-prints that I wanted to take back from Steffi because I thought they were dreadful. They just weren’t working for me. Some of the leaves were too large, too overwhelming. They weren’t aesthetically pleasing in my eyes at all. But, as we went further into the process, I began to see them differently. What once felt off-balance started to reveal something new.
SC: Artists are most critical about their own work.
MC: Steffi treated our work as fabric because, after all, it is fabric. We developed a deep trust in her judgment, allowing her to guide the process with her design sensibility. There was a quiet confidence in the way she approached the materials, and it allowed the work to evolve in a way that felt both fresh and cohesive, with everything coming together in such a harmonious way.
GJ: I want to explore a deeper level of collaboration. We need to take more responsibility in how the prints inform the fashion design and vice-versa. It’s about creating a more integrated dialogue between the two. We can collectively research ways to incorporate textile designs that subtly reveal hidden prints or something along those lines, creating layers that unfold visually and conceptually as the garment comes to life.
SF: Combining two seemingly disparate elements usually produces something new—new ideas or new ways of thinking. That was the intention for this show, but in a very specific way. The coming together of contemporary art and commercial fashion has been a big corporate strategy for decades, ranging from museums built by luxury brands, such as the Fondazione Prada in Milan, Fondation Louis Vuitton and Fondation Cartier in Paris, and the Pinault Collection at the Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana in Venice; to the midrange spectrum of sneaker collaborations with artists, down to the most affordable high street brands like Uniqlo’s artist T-shirts.
The difference is that all of the above contribute to the problems of fast fashion. As the most impactful influencers on consumers, they should rethink their responsibilities to society and to the planet.
Tony, as an art historian who has spent most of your life working and living in the UK, what’s your perspective on the collaborative nature of “Earthbound?”
TG: There are different kinds of creativity, and it shouldn’t be so difficult to move between them. One key difference is that in the UK, the art school system is much more integrated. Fashion, design, painting, and sculpture all exist in much closer proximity, so these kinds of crossovers happen more naturally and more often. I haven’t seen many collaborative projects like “Earthbound” because of that.
In the UK, it’s not uncommon to meet artists who are married to fashion or jewelry designers. There’s an ongoing conversation between those worlds. Perhaps the education system here could be adjusted to encourage more of these types of collaborations, fostering a richer exchange of ideas across disciplines.
Do you think there will be another project with the same team, or do you feel “Earthbound” is more of a one-off?
GJ: There absolutely should be a second iteration of this, and it should continue to evolve, especially since we’ve been talking so much about sustainability and ecology. This can’t be just a one-off. It has to keep going. The ecological crisis we’re facing is worsening with time, and it affects everyone.
We cannot stop stressing the importance of environmental sustainability and the urgent need to course-correct humanity’s widespread destruction of nature. This conversation must remain at the forefront. Our collaboration offers a remedy to the phenomenon of plant blindness. Through our exhibition, people have the opportunity to learn more about the flora around them. That curiosity about plants could be the first step toward cultivating a deeper love for nature.
SC: I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Geraldine and Marionne again. I haven’t felt this fulfilled in my practice in a long time. I absolutely love pattern cutting, and honestly, working alongside Geraldine and Marionne has been incredibly inspiring. Their work has opened up new avenues for me to explore, and it’s been a truly energizing experience.
MC: I second both of their answers. On a personal level, there’s a deep sense of happiness in seeing the potential of the plants around me come to life in eco-printed garments. I’d love to see individuals wearing our clothing, and the thought of these pieces becoming an integral part of people’s lives is incredibly fulfilling. It’s a satisfying realization, knowing that our work can connect with others in such a meaningful way.
SF: With every project, there’s always something to learn, and it would be a missed opportunity not to build upon those lessons. Each experience adds a new layer of understanding, and that’s what makes the work continue to evolve.
PDV: Something has been born here at MO_Space with this show—this feels like the beginning of something vital in the history of Philippine contemporary art. It’s not just a cerebral exploration of ecology, as Tony pointed out. This show brings us back to love. Not the theoretical kind, but a raw, fundamental love for the pale blue dot we call home. It reminds us that, at its heart, this is about forging a deep, emotional connection to the Earth—one that moves beyond intellect and strikes at something far more primal, more personal.
GJ: It is time.
