BY JAY BAUTISTA |
 |
| Sakiyo |
Oftentimes
to espouse the contemporary, artists painstakingly create alternative realities
of their own making. From organic cast of subjects, to ethereal settings, even
backing them up with personal myths and mythologies as main conniving narratives.
In
his second solo exhibition AMPO (Hiligaynon for prayer) Michael Delmo contemplates
further his artistic direction on this ongoing pandemic and pursues his faith
in an inner spiritual vision wrought by whimsical creatures in eerie
landscapes.
 |
| Tanghaga |
For
Delmo, art-making is a form of an in-depth religious undertaking--manifesting
your full potential as a way of coping and even surviving these difficult and
trying times. These seven paintings reveal a long hollowing narrative how Delmo
has interpreted the coronavirus as a menace and as a imaginative tactic of
revenge that the inherent good in people will eventually prevail.
The
story goes there was once a world where inhabitants were living in harmony. In Sakiyo
(steal) an alien creature arrives and imposes a grim influence of greed
and terror to the community. The alien creature resembles how the coronavirus
has appallingly enveloped our habitat. At the same time he has started to paint
for this exhibition, Delmo cleverly establishes the similar parallel act to how
even the coronavirus today also came from a foreign country.
Iwag
(light) features a mysterious ray of light that has alerted the inhabitants signaling
there is gravely something wrong with their surroundings. Pangayam (hunt) announces
a cause for alarm as it portrays that one cannot anymore get out of this social
quagmire threatening even the outside the world.
 |
| Sablok |
Tanghaga
(mystery) pushes the plot further by showing the alien creature painstakingly
spreading the bad menace on the entire planet. The scenario is overpowering in
a sense that the alien creature has completely ruled over his evil agenda. Banlod
(confine) causes a sense of fear as one distrusts each other because of the
predicament favoring the alien creature. A distressed angel is seen crying for help
because his friend was one of those affected and infested with the manipulation
as seen in Tanghaga.
 |
| Pangayam |
Sablok
(yearn) witnesses the lamented angel reporting to the abled guardian of the
society that his kinfolk was caught and already manipulated by the alien
creature. While holding his child the angel complains to what happened as the
abled guardian compassionately listens to her. On a positive note, Sagukom
(embrace) succumbs as goodness triumphs while the world is at the height its
peril. The situation brought out the caring instinct of the inhabitants with
one another. The inhabitants begin to be responsible for their upkeep and
protection--as long as one remains vigilant and look after beyond himself.
Growing
up in Iloilo, Delmo was already exploring these anthropomorphic characters in
high school. Delmo was visually honed doing masks and costumes every year for
the annual Dinagyang Festival every fourth Sunday of January. Several months
prior to the event, he would tag along with choreographers and musicians, they
would travel every town researching on local lore, legends and the indigenous
expressions of a particular tribe or people. He would hurriedly sketch as they
brainstorm on the spot to concoct the plot for the 10-minute at the prized At-Ati
dance competition. Each artistic tableau involves history, religion and culture
of how the Sto. Niño is venerated to seal the pact between the Datus and the
locals. Delmo was able to imbibe the various tribal instincts of the
performers. He wanted his designs to be as primarily natural as possible using
feathers, beads and sequins and blend well with the audience and environment.
Through the years Delmo has acquired his deep Hiligaynon roots and
conceptualized his paintings similar to the scene per scene of the Dinagyang
epic. This way of story-telling comes second nature to him. No wonder every pictorial
frame he churns out is a staged performance in live color. Even his titles are
Visayan in origin and scope.
 |
| Sagukom |
Delmo
devises his own paint brushes, sourcing them from discarded chicken feathers.
Depending on their application they satisfy his precise brushstrokes and
translate his bespoke iconographies. Although his visual style is homegrown he
remains to be authentic despite the current art practice today that has evolved
into a coy and crass creative exercise.
He
is by nature an initiator—wanting to be a trailblazer on his own, away from
their conventional modes of mixing paints. With no drawing reference, he
usually illustrates from his subconscious straight to an inviting blank white
canvas. An early riser, initially he does not yet figure the image yet he knows
what it is all about. Delmo is inspired by Hiligaynon words as titles in
expounding his ripening world-view. In explaining further, Delmo supposedly
feels relief for every concept finished off on canvas—a figurative pierced
thorn is taken out of his worries—like an unloaded burden off his back.
Delmo’s
realism counters the traditional genres for it to redefine itself into new
actualities in its own right. It adheres to that old school of eye to hand
skill in service of the imagination. Often eschewing the banal and sacred, it
defies fixation with the tested norms. Looking up to his fellow Ilonggo artists
as influences, practicing art in the peripheries has taught Delmo new and fresh
perspectives he has immortalized with his own distinct and evocative
expressions. As if enlightening the viewer, AMPO is striking for its
diversity and spontaneity—an in-your-face figurative theater. It has no shared
style or desired intentions yet a common thread persists that individually
Delmo is capable of imagination and commitment to the craft. His paintings are
organically breathing, ethereally impermanent and fixture of contemplation. They
continue to grow on you--long after seeing the exhibition and the ongoing
pandemic maybe over.
AMPO is ongoing at Art Verite Gallery until August 6, 2020
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