Pasinaya, the biggest multi-arts festival in the Philippines, included Tropical Climate Forensics in the highly anticipated in-person celebrations.
Themed Piglas Sining, this year’s three-day open house fest offers a series of performances, workshops and interactive activities in music, dance, visual arts, film and literature..
On-site events are set to fill within and beyond the grounds of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), from the Front Lawn, Liwasang Kalikasan, and Tanghalang Ignacio B. Gimenez to the parade grounds of Vicente Sotto Street.
The Paseo Museo segment aims to tour spectators into the diverse physical and virtual galleries across Metro Manila. Included in the line-up is the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB).
This show will take the guests into its first ever online exhibition, the Tropical Climate Forensics by Filipino trans-disciplinary artist Derek Tumala.
It is a virtual world that provides an in-depth look at the anchors of the crisis in the tropics across the past, present and speculative future. It features a single crosshatch plane that holds biomes that float as seemingly independent entities.
A world in its own right, each diorama encapsulates a timeline of climate decisions that led to the current catastrophe. The collection includes Init (Heat), Bulkan (Volcanoes), Bagyo (Typhoon), Tubig (Water), Gubat (Forest), Komunidad (Community) and Obserbatoryo (Observatory).
It drew inspiration from the artist’s residency through an Art Fair Philippines grant, at the Manila Observatory, one of the oldest meteorological observatories in Southeast Asia.
Built by the Jesuit Fathers in 1865, the scientific research institution immersed Tumala into archival research which eventually shed light on the shifting patterns of the weather and climate in the country and in the region.
For the project, Tumala brings with him a remarkable artistry that delves in the intersections of art, science and technology.
His exploratory works, which mostly engage new media, have been shown at Art Basel Hong Kong, Salzburg Global Seminar, Tokyo Design Week and Beyond Time Residency Poland. He likewise initiated Mvltiverse, a group of multimedia artists that explores the wonders of moving images and STEAM/Projects, a collective of technologists and artists.
Tropical Climate Forensics was commissioned by Benilde MCAD with support from the British Council’s Creative Commissions for Climate Action, a global program exploring climate change through art, science, and digital technology.
The Paseo Museo line-up includes the National Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Casa Manila, Museo de Intramuros, Fort Santiago, Museo Pambata and Adamson University.
Completing the roster are four new partners: AIMS Museo Maritimo, Manila City Hall Clock Tower Museum, Philippine Women’s University (PWU) School of Fine Arts and Design and GSIS Museum.
