A Somnambulist Manifesto

Artesan opens 2013 with art that is different and unique, shared with an interesting kind of intelligence and foresight. We present an exciting artist who goes several layers under our skin, to probe, and allow us to scrutinize, and regard our worldly past. Victor Balanon’s fascination for the retro-flick era is indeed an interesting subject to combine with the post-modern. We are very proud to present a truly spellbinding collection entitled A Somnambulist Manifesto: Victor Balanon.

In 2011, when Typhoon Ondoy hit Metro Manila and washed away millions of lives, it included photographs and letters carried away by the deluge, as mementos were destroyed forever. Thus, Victor began a series in early 2012 entitled the Nameless Hundred where old photographs were conjured with other objects, and iconic structures, often combined with faceless personalities that were sometimes abstracted. The dark mood of old stills in Balanon’s paintings also reminds us of the general skepticism surrounding mankind’s ability to achieve its dreams of Utopia. Yet each time light gleams through his ink paintings, it is reminiscent of hope, of our innate optimism, where many of yesterday’s dreams have actually become today’s many achievements.  Could it be conceivable that mankind is perhaps too hard on itself?

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