BPI PRESENTS

ARTFAIRPH/PROJECTS

Raymond Guevarra is a Valenzuela-based visual artist who specializes in sculpture and mechanical mixed media. Each artwork is a modular time capsule, a microcosm of pop culture that incorporates Filipino 90s toys as well as Western-influenced knick-knacks that trigger nostalgia for a pre-smart technology generation. Guevarra also includes cutouts of famous Filipino celebrities and other telenovela characters from the 80s and 90s television age as if to remind us that they were a part of our daily life--even if just in the background.

Art is another form of play, as evidenced by Raymond Gueverra’s whimsical creations, usually assemblages, made up of different knick-knacks familiar to those who grew up in the Philippines in the 1990s. Playing cards, plastic toy figures, packaging elements, and souvenirs of pop culture fill his works, arranged in eye-popping configurations that instantly remind viewers of a time when games were still played on the streets, children interacted with friends in real life, and minds were not yet consumed by technology. Some works can even move mechanically by cranking a lever, emphasizing the importance of hands-on interaction.

Gueverra’s works are characterized by an obsessive attention to detail, as if the goal is to recreate a world that has been lost. This nostalgia is clearly rooted in vernacular culture, as most of the objects in his works reference popular Filipino television shows, movies, and celebrities. Together, they offer a snapshot of things that were once consumed and celebrated, proving that no subject is beneath the consideration of art.