Paper Trail: Contemporary Art Philippines Feature

PAPER TRAIL

Book Artist Veronica Laurel incorporates the traditional crafts of wood carving, carpentry, and bookbinding into her contemporary art practice.

Inside Artinformal's Big Room exhibit space is a modest collection of curious pieces made of paper and found objects encased in glass and carved wood. Veronica Laurel's first solo exhibition, Beautifully Damned, presents her latest book art creations. Utilizing her skills in wood carving, carpentry, and book binding, Laurel turns old books and paper into art objects. Right off the bat, one can appreciate the meticulous process that went into creating these handmade pieces.

Laurel is currently based in Laguna. She describes herself a collector of things, who likes to gather materials for her pieces. Her interest in woodworking started at a young age because of her family's wood furniture business. She learned wood carving in Paete, Laguna and studied book binding on her own. Of her learning process, she says, "I wanted to keep doing it until I got it right. It doesn't matter if my first tries were terrible. What matters is that I'm willing to try. Same goes for carpentry and carving."

Laurel's use of found objects correlates with the Buddhist view of making use of what is available. The wood she used in her pieces is sourced from old demolished houses. Buddhist beliefs are actually something that Laurel had the opportunity to explore when she lived in a Buddhist temple in Taiwan for three months prior to her show. "The preparation to get ready was long; the execution was short," she adds. Laurel was also influenced by Masaki Kobayashi's Human Condition film trilogy, as well as literature on Western and Buddhist psychology. In Beautifully Damned, she shares the culmination of her spiritual exploration, merging it with her artistic practice into a harmonious whole.

"Beautifully Damned" was the title of a poem she wrote a few years earlier. It was about living in a world where people choose to numb themselves, thus becoming the beautifully damned ones. "The truth is, damnation is just damnation. I added the word "beautifully" because people don't to believe that we are all just damned. The romantic are optimistic enough to call it beautiful, a sweet a suffering, a vulnerable state of mind," Laurel explains.


Prior to her first solo exhibition, Laurel's early works were included in Ayala Museum's group exhibits and, most recently, at the Met Open 2014 in the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.

(End of First Half)

(For the complete article, look for Art+ Contemporary Art Philippines Magazine Issue no. 35)

Planting the Seed of Bookarts in the Philippines

This is a good beginning for bookarts in the Philippines where there are now a few practitioners with the craft surfacing. I know aside from me, there are a few others from the North and South of Luzon. 

I am very much looking forward to meeting a few of them as well.

Here's news from inewswire about my solo show this coming September 25 at the Big Room of Art informal.

A Bold New Genre: First Bookarts Solo Show Opens in the Philippines

Aside from my solo show, I was also included at the Met Open where there were 200 artworks exhibited for the benefit of the Met's art program. 5 curators were the one who chose the artworks submitted and what I liked about the application process was that they don't need your resume or cv, they just need to see your work. The reception is on the 20th but will open to the public on the 21st. I have submitted a bookart piece enclosed in wood and glass, protecting 3 hanging bound books and one at the bottom for a total of 4 bound books within. Sadly, I do not have a photo of the artwork but I will surely take a photo of it when it is at the Met Museum, the lighting will definitely give it a different feel.

And I also joined an art fair on the 25th at the National Art Fair in the Megamall Megatrade Halls. It seems that this month is truly a busy and spectacular month. I'm hoping to keep this up but working as a full time artist can take its toll since the financial income is not stable. The only way I could get by is to be very frugal and really spend on things that are necessary, I am not capable of appeasing my luxuries very much but I know I must tighten my belt.
I am happy for the support that I get from family and friends as I tread this path.

Audaces Fortuna Iuvat

A Bold New Genre: First Book Arts Solo Exhibition Opens in the Philippines

Mandaluyong City - Book artist Veronica Laurel opens her debut solo exhibition titled "Beautifully Damned" on September 25 at the Big Room in Art Informal Gallery. An exhibition depicting the fragile human condition through a fusion of book arts and wooden sculptures.

Veronica Laurel presents bookarts as a new genre in the Philippine Contemporary Art with her show. Her first exhibition is a brave introduction and promising beginning for bookarts as a vital genre in the Philippine art scene.

Laurel's work delves into the complicated state of the human condition in its chaotic frustrations and fragile undertakings. Under the discipline of bookarts, it opens up new possibilities in the local contemporary art scene as it is a new and an exciting genre that has flourished in North America and Europe.

Beautifully Damned as a solo show is a portraiture of human emotions and conditions through sculptural bookart forms, the raw and genuine spirit covered up by society's demanded pretensions.

In her artworks are the three main elements that play a huge role in its construction such as paper, wood, and glass. She uses book arts to carry out the essence of the artwork then wood and glass as the vessel, similar to have a body and a soul. The Philippine art industry has many talented artists often falling under traditional disciplines. Veronica Laurel as an artist dares to add a new genre in Philippine contemporary art that can compete internationally.

Book arts has been a growing movement globally with more and more practitioners each year and a wide audience but has yet to be grasped in South East Asia.

Veronica Laurel is a book artist based in Sta Rosa city. She studied book binding on her own and learned wood carving in Paete, Laguna. Growing up in a family of carpenters, she developed skills in working with wood.
She has exhibited across manila in group exhibitions at venues such as the Ayala Museum, The Tower Club, Blot Art Studio, among others.

Find out more about her in her website: www.veronicalaurel.com

Address to Art Informal
277 Connecticut St. Mandaluyong City. Near Greenhills.
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16 Months To Go

It’s been set, my first debut solo show has been scheduled 16 months from now. A solo show as they say, marks the success of an artist in breaking into the scene but this has been much delayed. I was offered the solo show last year and had I worked on it sooner, I could have debuted earlier – but of course, I do believe that I needed to be side-tracked to realize the greater things I need to prioritize.

I find myself back to where I was and realizing where I should be, at home in Sta Rosa where I now fix and organize my literary-office/book-art studio and wood shop with much excitement. Things I believe are falling into place and I’ve set my goal. Research and studies fill my idle times aside from working on the studio which proves to be laborious.

Repainting the walls after 15 years and refurbishing furniture. It is due to the fact that I must live a frugal life where I have to do these things on my own. A meagre salary from writing and a few projects here and there doesn’t promote an indulgent lifestyle. It’s a good thing I find happiness in laborious things – it is one of the things that make me happy when I’ve successfully finished doing the things that seemed impossible and seemed tiring.

I do not expect that I will be able to go out as often as I’d like but I’ve willingly embraced this loneliness to work on my show and other projects. There is contentment and satisfaction as I see small fruits of my labour. To add to the fact that I must live as frugal as I should, going out will be very much limited which is something that I’ve accepted. I content myself with the simple joys of hearing different great news from friends and ex-lovers. I recently found out that one of my ex-lovers from college is going to get married, I am thrilled and happy for her.

However, since I have thrown myself away from the Gates of Hell(Manila, in its romantic description), my joys and happiness for these people have become nothing more than a murmur in another corner of the universe, let it be so for my sadness. How terrible it is to not be able to express happiness in one’s own way but be reduced to nothing more than words and Facebook statuses and messages…

I have gathered enough materials to start and some of the pieces I’ve already started working on. My solo show is about the Human Condition, which proves to be quite a heavy and deep concept which requires a lot of research and a lot of books to read. I must study and further explore ideas and continue to work on which is the best way to execute, despite difficulties.

There is no easy way to this.