MIDWAY

Situated within the confines of a pathway between two gallery spaces, the tightness of the area becomes a trajectory for two artists to engage in a visual dialogue – both between them and among the viewers. The middle, whether it be a position, a space, an average, a balance, or an equilibrium
becomes the channel for discourse. Midway presents two artists who are both experiencing a state of flux in each of their artistic practices. The works presented by Chicco Ramos and Miguel Lorenzo Uy set their artistic practices apart from each other in a way where their differences becomes a platform to survey and examine their approaches to art making: through the exchange of
concepts, processes, and understandings.

Miguel Lorenzo Uy explores the semiotic potential of light when combined with different materials and objects – often presenting them in their most basic and straightforward state. For instance, the idea of how a prism breaks light to different wavelengths through careful positioning plays with the concept of control and outcome. Alignment (2018) emphasizes the act of arranging and configuring basic elements to yield either a random or controlled result. The audience is invited to interact with the prism’s position; where the external intervention becomes a part of the work.

Chicco Ramos presents his works through manipulating mediums in an organic way that can represent formations caused by action and movement. Ramos derives his approach from collage-based works but sets himself apart as his pieces pivot on a single medium. His series of recent works (Forget what is not needed, For one to move forward, To Switch Gears, To Make a Difference., 2018) are remnants of personal convictions – which is then translated to dried films of acrylic color and arranged to depict familiar yet strange patterns and formations. As much as the process leans toward a poetic and abstract approach, its outcome evokes materiality and volume.

Exhibition text by Miguel Lorenzo Uy