Gravity Art Space interns probe into environmental degradation in newest exhibition
We can no longer afford to be oblivious to the harm done to our environment. Our social media accounts, once an avenue for escape, are now a source of troubling anxieties. As we find ourselves mindlessly scrolling through news of typhoons, wildfires, and harrowing infographics, it’s easy to get caught in paralysis.
“Doomscrolling” is a term popular among Gen Z used to describe the incessant consumption of distressing information online. When interns for Gravity Art Space were led to a culminating activity, they decided to take the opportunity to make art out of the haunting of environmental degradation.
“SanDale: Sa Madali, Nadadale” showcases five works from university students of UST, FEU, and UE. It is a public art exhibition that tackles the costs of so-called progress in the urban landscape. Mainly, it is a critique of urban projects that fail to safeguard environmental concerns, leading to issues such as the loss of biodiversity, flooding, and the degradation of marine ecosystems.
“The artists respond to the dilapidation through materials and forms grounded in the urban everyday. Across the exhibition, their works are a reflection on how systemic neglect becomes embedded in the spaces we live in, the tools we use, and the compromises we accept,” reads an excerpt from the exhibition notes written by gallery interns, Cyrene Cacdac and Love Arceo.
“No Sea Life Allowed” and “Set in Stone” (UE)
Made with caution tape, masking tape, scrap paper, foil, and clay, “No Sea Life Allowed” by Byron Viray is an art installation just outside the entrance of Gravity Art Space.
Viray was struck by the land reclamation projects in Manila Bay. He lost sleep trying to ensure that the fish sculptures would be as accurate as possible, determined
