Triangulum’s expanding orbit, from Manila to Penang
Think of a black hole: dense, invisible yet shaping everything around it. That’s the kind of gravitas E.S.L. Chen intends to bring to his work, both as a visual artist and as the founder of the artist unit Triangulum.
With the collective, he orbits around collaboration, process, and participation—treating art less as an object to be consumed and more as a field of encounters.
The name comes from the Triangulum Galaxy, home to the black hole M33 X-7, a fitting metaphor for the way ideas collapse, pull, and reconfigure—often beyond intent, shaped by energy, circumstance, and human interaction.
In Georgetown, Penang, this vision took shape at Art Lane, where Chen and his collaborators staged an open, participatory project. Strangers offered their faces to be scanned and transformed into printed portraits with hand-drawn interventions while copies formed segments of a mixed media public mural. What mattered was not just the final wall but the exchange itself: art as dialogue, art as action, art as a record of people willing to step into its orbit.
Looking ahead, Chen sees Triangulum as a vehicle for carrying Philippine contemporary art into wider conversations and crossing borders while staying grounded in community.
For Chen, the future lies not in permanence or spectacle, but in cultivating conditions where art remains in motion—circulating between artists and publics, traversing places and cultures, and continually oscillating between beauty and its hard questions.
Tell us about your Art Lane Penang project. What inspired Triangulum to initiate such a participatory effort in George Town?
At Art Fair Philippines 2025, curator Vanini Belarmino saw us transform the Triangulum exhibition into a participatory studio. “Bagay ito sa Penang,” she remarks. I took her seriously and “Free Scan Job” was born.
Art as action is a response to machine learning. Bringing the process to the public view demonstrates humanity. It started with “Copies of Copies,” where I drew on top of copies of a single image and gave them away freely. Although lacking documentation, the most I did in a single day was around 400 A4-sized pieces at Art in the Park 2024.
Narelle McMurtie, known for China House, graciously hosted us in George Town. We were to leave a mural at Art Lane, her establishment. We spent a week collecting scans of faces at Art Lane and a day at Hin Bus Depot. The prints I drew on were given to participants as thanks. We then built the mural using monochrome copies. The art happening, as it’s called, became part of George Town Festival earlier this month.
We’re inspired to publicize art engagingly. Sometimes, we’re asked off-putting questions—“Is this art?” That’s a sign to never stop educating.
What is the story behind the name Triangulum?
While thinking of a name, I browsed through black holes and found Triangulum. It stuck. The Triangulum Galaxy houses a stellar black hole.
The black hole effect… it’s a feeling of imbalance, as if one’s world is collapsing into itself. One moment, you’re lucid and another, you’re crazy—primal—but balance is key. The black hole effect happens when you’re in equilibrium. You notice that people either avoid you or fall into your gravity, happily or begrudgingly.
Who are the key movers of Triangulum, and what disciplines or practices in the visual arts do they represent?
Frelan “Pakz” Gonzaga is a painter, photographer, and artist. He astutely observes his surroundings. We met in Bacolod in 2022 and he invited me to collaborate with him. He represents our capacity to learn from one another. He was there since the beginning.
Karina Broce Gonzaga is Frelan’s partner and collaborator. Together, they’re FreAk, and I’m proud to say the work they exhibited for Triangulum at AFP 2025 was featured in ILOMOCA as part of Ed Valencia’s recent Southeast Asian art collection survey. Karina does painting, installations, and fabric works. Her solo installation featuring her burnt down ancestral home demonstrates strength in times of grief.
Wipo is a painter, photographer, artist, and teacher. His knack for observation is a constant source of inspiration. His questions lead us to consider the meaning of our actions. I look up to him as a guide for navigating the art scene.
And finally, Paige Señeres is a makeup artist. She volunteered to manage Triangulum’s social media and shape how we document projects. Although I am still skeptical about social media, her efforts have led to more engagement.
How would you describe your philosophy of art, particularly in relation to collaborative works and participatory projects?
Beauty will save the world. That delusional idea was cemented by coming face-to-face with Renaissance works. Witnessing a pinnacle of human creativity from four centuries ago made me question my ambition. The massive scale they worked in championed collaboration.
Great art changes the society one lives in. How good or bad the change is is relative because there is a plurality of experience. However, great ideas should stand the test of time.
Today, people consume random content. I want to change that. Social media isn’t a panacea, but a tool. I aspire to be like the Renaissance artists and patrons who brought art to the masses through monumental works filled with deeper meanings.
How do you read the current Philippine art scene? What excites you most about it today?
It’s a transition of generations, movements, and philosophies. We’ve benefited from the expansion of the art scene.
I thank Art Fair Philippines—especially Lisa Ongpin-Periquet, Dindin Araneta, and Trickie Lopa—for supporting artists’ dreams. Their acknowledgment of our independent spirit is heartwarming. Our stunts have caused inconveniences, but they‘re always ready to guide.
I’m grateful to Gravity Art Space founders, Indy Paredes and Melai Matias, who challenge structure. The first Intersections Art Summit held in Bangkok last February gathered more than a hundred Filipino and regional artists together.
Last but not least, I’m grateful to Charlie Co, artist and co-founder of Orange Project. His refusal to relocate out of his hometown of Bacolod City made me value community. My vision stems from his example.
With members based in both Manila and the Visayas, how do you imagine Triangulum sustaining and growing across distance?
By brutal realism. Like-mindedness and openness are irreplaceable. Problems solve themselves as long as we work smoothly.
Name five artists in the local art and design scene that Triangulum would most like to collaborate with.
Tekla Tamoria for vivacity, Bea Camacho for endurance, Ange Labyrinth for a mature first solo at GAS, Heart Evangelista for how she connects with the public, and Jerome Lorico for a conceptual fashion approach.
What should audiences expect from Triangulum in the coming years?
We’re targeting South Korea and Germany—also, something monumental in Manila. If everything falls into place, then you won’t be able to miss it.
And finally, why are you an artist?
My insides tell me so. And, amor fati.
