Tahoooooo. Tahooooo. This early morning siren is one of the sounds that define the Philippines, and the warm feelings it evokes in so many is why the artist Qwark sought them out during a time of personal crisis. His new series is not just the about the magtataho though, but street vendors in general. As a young kid, he’d watch them on his way to school every day, and they left him with an impression he couldn’t fully explain. “I’d see the same ice cream man in the morning, at lunch, and afternoon,” Qwark explains. “I never understood until I grew older how these people spend long hours working for minimal income. I admire their resilience, their dedication to providing for their families. So now I depict these people as modern-day gods: people of wonder and might both in body and will.”
Read MoreLegit Status Continues Phils Global Street Dance Reputation
For a small island country located far from the centers of street dance culture, the Philippines plays an outsize role in the scene worldwide. Legit Status, a team founded in 2009 by coach Vimi Rivera, has continued that reputation. This August they captured the bronze in the top category of Hip Hop International, one of the world’s biggest street dance competitions. Every year, around 50 countries descend on the West coast of America to battle it out in a dozen different categories, and Filipino teams nearly always rank among the top in the mega crew competition, beating out teams from the US, Japan, and other bastions of street dance. “This year had the most intense level of competition,” Rivera says. “It’s crazy”
Read MoreSabadontt’s Pixelated Animation of Rainy Life in Manila
Rainy season in Manila can be a difficult time, but combine that with an endless rush hour and you have every excuse to go full emo. A young Makati-raised artist named Sabadontt is capturing all the feels of these dreaded, water-logged days in a series of pixel art animations. Commuters stuffed in leaky stairwells waiting for an MRT that threatens to never show up. A student trying to hide under her umbrella pauses on an overpass, gazing off in existential crisis. Locals start to shed the day’s struggle in a communal break at the carinderia.
Read MoreMark Valino Brings Filipino Street Dance Home
The term “street dance,” when used in the Philippines, is a little complicated since most of it happens on stage or in the studio. But director Mark Valino aims to correct that, bringing these styles back their rightful place. He shoots song-length videos of dancers on sidewalks, stairwells, and literally in the middle of the street. The series mainly focuses on Southeast Asian dancers but also includes dancers from his hometown of Toronto. Ultimately though, it was the Philippines that inspired the whole thing.
Read MoreDistort Monster’s First Solo Show At Secret Fresh
Skateboarding. Punk rock. Graffiti. They’re all pretty aggressive subcultures, outlets that allow angry kids to express themselves. And Distort Monsters has been here for all of them since he was little. Whether out in QC on his board during middle school, running around Metro with a can in high school, or penning angsty punk songs all along, it was a way for him to channel his mood into relatively positive ways. And it paid off too, considering that he’s opening his first solo art show this Sunday, courtesy of the good people at Secret Fresh. [Full disclosure: Distort is now part of the Honeycomb team.]
Read MoreACDMND$ and Nahmean Namsayin’s “Ice” Breaks A Million Eyeballs
If you don’t pay close attention, there’s a lot of heat catching fire that you’ll miss. But we’ve got your back: ACDMND$ and Nahmean Namsayin‘s “Ice” turned out to be a sleeper hit, ratcheting up a steady number of fans since it dropped in June and breaking through the million man mark this week. The Antipolo squad brought together the perfect combo of earworm hooks and beats that make it hard to forget. (Skinny G‘s thug life glasses are worth noting, too.)
Read MoreWater Water Everywhere Not A Drop To Drink: Bato At VoV
Empty, matte black figures suspended above dust piles in a small, windowless room and a dry faucet on the far end. It’s a bleak scene, one loaded with implications for our future if the world continues on its path. The installation is Dennis Bato‘s “Element Of The Past” show at Vinyl on Vinyl, which opened this week. And although meaning behind this piece of concept art is unclear at first glance, all it takes is a nudging from the artist himself to send its possibilities spiraling. He says it’s about the existence humans might face from the choices we’ve made, specifically the specter of water crises, which Manila only recently suffered through as millions of people faced limited access to water.
Read MoreReen Barrera Explores The Idea Of Families At Vinyl On Vinyl
Family. It’s the basic unit of human connection, an integral part of existence, the root of one’s identity, usually composed of parents and children in the same household. Most consider the people they were born into and share a bloodline with as their family.
The Tattoos And Art Of Nep Cardenas
Linework is linework. Whether it’s tattoos or illustration, simple and precise lines can make all the difference. It’s a lesson that Nep Cardenas is taking to heart in both fields. With illustrations heavily influenced by comic strips and manga, and tattoos inspired by classic Japanese and Sailor Jerry styles, the young artist is quickly making a name for himself.
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