CO-CREATOR

Irma Lacorte periodically mounts solo exhibitions and participates in regional and national shows such as the Visayas Islands Visual Art Exhibition and Conference (VIVA ExCon) in Bacolod City (2014) and Iloilo City (2016), PROMDI at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 2016. She received the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship Grant twice (2003, 2016). She completed her Masters in Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, in 2012. She is cited in the Philippine Encyclopedia for the Arts (2018), published by the CCP. She resides in Dumaguete City.

Other select exhibitions:

Bakas: Filipina Imprints (October 7, 2023 - January 30, 2024), Hulot Gallery, Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art, Iloilo City.

About the work: 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘪 𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢, 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘢. 𝘚𝘢 𝘛𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘬𝘢𝘱𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘢 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢. 𝘚𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘵𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢 𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘦, 𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘩𝘰𝘬 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢, 𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘺. 𝘔𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘰, 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘢. 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘳𝘢. 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘯𝘢 𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘶𝘨𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘢 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘬𝘢-𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤-𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦-𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘬 𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢. 𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘢-𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘣𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘢 𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯? 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘪 𝘣𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘴?

Revisiting Akat (July 2018), National Commission for Culture and the Arts Gallery, Intramuros, Manila.

Exhibition notes by Dennis Andrew Aguinaldo: For now, let us believe that the act of an epic is to preserve, to carry farm produce, trinkets, magical pets, vats of dye, and rolls of fabric aboard the same story. Our elders wanted to keep it together, we are told, to each its proper place, each detail as if charged with command: Let there be light/As on heaven so on earth/Eat the world/Still life. So we take and keep, and what we can’t preserve we transform into something not fully tangible, something that might yet outlive us. How do we keep such nonthings in? How do we leave an inkling of something to the next carriers, to those destined to find some other yet unforeseen use for it? And what if the notion is to multiply, “scatter”?

Formal Elements (January 2016), Galleria Duemila, Manila. To be drawn is to draw. The word “drawing” in this series not only means the act of creating with a pencil but also connotes attraction that gels objects together. This series of drawings corresponds to the shape of the wooden panels wherein the circular form represents a cycle of exploring the basic elements of art — line, texture, and tonal values. Subjects range from microscopic features to colossal details.

Project Glocal. A social experiment that involves artists from four different cities — Bangkok, Hong Kong, Manila, and Singapore. The idea is to subject these artists in situations or circumstances where they are to interact with and in their respective cities and participating cities with other Project Glocal cities. Project Glocal was conceptualized and spearheaded in 2011 by independent curator Dayang Yraola.

- Dezipcoding (November 2012 to December 2012), Singapore Art Museum 8Q, Singapore

- Cityzening (October 2012 to November 2012), Jorge B. Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City

- Habit Forming (May 2012 to June 2012), Art Informal, Greenhills, San Juan

- Small Talk: Conversation of Cities (January 2012), Tin-aw Gallery, Manila

Agi-Anan Visayas Biennale. Organized by PUSOD and Open Organization of Cebu Visayas Artists, Inc., in cooperation with the National Commission on Culture and the Arts. Curated by Reuben Canete, November 2010.

CO-CREATOR

Tin Palattao is a Dumaguete-based cyanotype artist, printmaker, and co-creator of ILCP Art Space. Formally trained in communication arts, she first worked as a line production coordinator in a theater company in Quezon City before transplanting herself in Negros Oriental in 2014. Her interest in the visual arts began with digital photography, which led to her exploration of various alternative printing processes. She has mounted three solo exhibitions in Dumaguete City while working as a full-time language editor. She participated in Limbag Kamay Print Fair 2021 (October 2021) and Prints Made in May (May-June 2022) by Cartellino and Fundacion Sanso and the photography exhibition "FotomotoPH Invitational: Portraits" in Bacolod City (May-June 2022).

Group exhibitions:

Print Exchange+ @ILOMOCA (October 7-December 30, 2023), Ground Floor Lobby, Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art, Iloilo City.

About the work: A botanical environment can teach us how to live and let live, but only if we allow it. Despite adversities, there is growth. We persist; we choose to move forward. As in the process of printmaking, the act of carving reflects the artist’s decisiveness amid the mistakes, spontaneity despite the structure, but never fear. This triptych is a memory of personal progression as an artist stunted by circumstances, now in its final form.

Women in Their Environment (May 10-31, 2023), Museo De La Salle, De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Excerpt of exhibition notes: In this project, these women artists aim to demonstrate the flexibility of printmaking and its meditative process that encourages the printmaker to be mindful of the physical space they are in. The texture and color of objects can be subtle or bold, depending on the available organic materials in their environment. Mindfulness comes with choosing common wild flowers we tend to ignore. What do we see? What do we choose to look at, to view, to observe? What pushes us to make these visible?

Sagbot (October-December 2023), Damgo Coffee Shop, Silay City, Negros Occidental.

Exhibition notes: The limits of space can be liberating in the same way we let our minds be. There is growth despite constraints, and in the eureka moments of rediscovery of things and the self in the corners and crevices of the limited space, we feel free -- like the organic patterns of weeds or, in Bisaya, sagbot.

This series of botanical monoprints is pulled from homemade gelli plates, transfer(ring) images and patterns of leaves harvested from our sometime/partially untended garden/yard on to paper.

Come and see.

Look closely.

Limbag Kamay Print Exchange 2022 (August 2022), Fundacion Sanso, San Juan City, Metro Manila.

Fotomoto ‘21 Invitation: Portrait (May-June 2022), The Orange Project, Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.

About the work: The askal, a local term for a mixed breed dog, is often depicted as part of a classic Filipino household; it is the one that guards the family, hence the popular name “Bantay”. However, this role has been somehow lost over the years, with the increasing popularity of “furbabies” (dog breeds acquired from pet shops or private dog breeders). Some households still have askals, but the level of care, affection, and attention is not as much as that dedicated to expensive breeds. In recent years, when a family could no longer provide extra care, puppies of askals are often abandoned on the streets at night or early morning, practically when no one can see.

This portrait depicts another example of a Filipino family in which there are two human mothers and the askal is not the lost protector, but a primary member. At the center of the platform, Irma rests after an errand from the farmers’ Sunday market, with a bowl of snacks on hand. Around her are 10 askals actually distracted by the camera, their gaze following my raised hand. We rescued them from the streets of Dumaguete City since we moved in 2014, except for Elias who came with us all the way from UPLB, Laguna; Papi who we adopted from a friend who returned to his hometown in Roxas; and Ibarra, Clara, and Salome who were born after we rescued their mother Dogie.

Solo exhibitions:

On Exploring Cyanotypes (February 2021), Alima Cafe, Dumaguete City.

Exhibition notes: Cyanotype printing is very concisely introduced in the history of photography. It is a technique that uses light-sensitive chemicals that turn from apple green to cement gray when exposed to direct intense sunlight and then to deep blue after rinsing in a water bath, leaving only white silhouettes of organic patterns, symmetrical edges, and translucent objects, even dusts. It is nearly one year after I participated in the cyanotype printing workshop at the Art Fair Philippines 2020. Since then, I have been exploring my way back to making images. This series is a segue from freelance assignments to off-days, from the chaotic social media to actual gardening, from text to shapes and texture. Limitations will always be present, but they should inspire creativity, especially in the time of COVID-19. Cyanotype printing excites you when curating objects on paper, teases you while the print is being developed under the sun, either shows promise or disappoints as the chemicals are rinsed off, and finally, no matter the outcome, teaches acceptance. As in real life, it's not always what we expect but we learn from the experience.

The Other Perspective (August - December 2018), Alima Cafe, Dumaguete City.

Exhibition notes: With the one-way traffic scheme in Dumaguete, the view of the city's urban landscape then becomes a scenery on loop — the same buildings along the same routes from one point of view. From the passenger seat of the traditional pedicab, this series is a preview of the photographer’s visual diary on her unidirectional commute from her workplace to a popular drop-off point in the downtown area.

Tapok (November 2017 - January 2018), KRI Restaurant, Dumaguete City.

Exhibition notes: There is a distinctive play of vibrant colors, plump forms, and crisp and smooth textures of the organic elements of each arrangement. None of the designs are repeated as they depend largely on the type and quantity of the produce harvested. This series frames — under ambient lighting — the vendors’ creative efforts that not only aim to profit but also continue the culture of the “tapok” system.