The living archive of Raena Abella
In her much-anticipated solo exhibition at Artinformal—“To seek. To surrender. To stay.”—Raena Abella presents a living archive of a community that makes this connection tangible.
For nearly two years, Abella has created over 120 ambrotype portraits of Filipino contemporary artists. Through ambrotypes, a 19th century photographic process, she places underexposed, wet-plate collodion negatives on glass. Against a dark background, the extreme attention to timing and light, as well as physical interaction with the chemical process, the result is a positive image.
Put on pause
While Abella has been creating ambrotypes for more than a decade, the idea for this project was conceived in 2019. “I like shooting landscapes and still lifes. But portraits… That’s something I’ve been trying to avoid,” she admits. “But one day, I thought, it’s time to shoot portraits. And the best people to shoot are artists.”
Yielding to fate
Working with wet plate collodion, Abella is used to carefully coating, sensitizing, exposing, and developing each plate by hand, often contending with light or chemicals that refuse to cooperate. “Before I click the shutter, there’s a moment—a feeling of surrender,” she explains.
“Parang bahala na if this will work or not,” she adds. “And it’s not giving up. It’s yielding. You yield to fate.”
This yielding is central to the show and has borne fruit as well. “What I value with this project is the bond I made with every artist. They carve out time for me. They come to the studio… and we talk about mundane stuff—about shows, art, politics, even pets. Spending an hour and a half just talking is super intimate,” she says. “Just imagine I did this 120 plus times.”
Greater than the sum of all its parts
At the exhibition, the 120-plus portraits will be presented as a single work and will not be sold individually. “This body of work is really a major collaboration,” Abella says. “Of all the artists and the writers, Tina, my friends and family—all of whom believed and supported me.”
It’s definitely a milestone, but Abella confidently states, “I feel like I’m just getting started.” A book, slated for the third quarter of the year, will expand the archive with essays and stories that did not fit on the glass.
For Abella, what remains is gratitude and a sense of momentum. “The energy of these artists is so infectious,” she gushes. “When I’m with them, it makes me want to be a better artist. Clock in the hours. Be more authentic.”
“To seek. To surrender. To stay.” runs from Feb. 26 to Apr. 9, 2026, at Artinformal Gallery, The Alley at Karrivin Chino Roces Ext., Makati City
