Multimedia Visual Artist Abdulmari “Toym” De Leon Imao’s art installation entitled “Tanod-Lupa” is enjoyed by parkgoers at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) for Sinag 2023 activities.
The installation was launched together with CCP’s 50th-anniversary celebration on September 28, accompanied by a band performance by MONZTER JAM.
Toym Imao is the son of the late National Artist for Visual Arts, Doctor Abdulmari Asia Imao, a Muslim artist who expressed and crafted public art through historical installations; thus, his fondness for mythological creatures comes from his multicultural roots.
Tanod-Lupa Art Installation featured various Philippine folklore creatures such as kapre, aswang, nuno sa punso, tikbalang, diwata, and manananggal, complemented with TJ Ramos sound designs.
Each of the creatures was crafted with welded steel, fiberglass, ropes, and lanterns with LED lights by Kapampangan lantern makers, headed by Arvin Bondoc Quiwa.
Imao shared with a local news outlet that it is the right time to promote our culture through folklore creatures.
“With themes like climate change and cultural promotion, it’s perfect for us to bring these creatures from folklore and mythologies to the forefront,” he said.
Often presented in films and literature as frightening and eerie, Imao believes these creatures also deserve to be reimagined.
“Definitely, we will not become a horror park. We will recreate these creatures so that they will appear fun to look at and, at the same time, demystify them in the context of some stories,” he explained.
Adding that humans live together with the unknown, “We are not the only inhabitants of our environment; we share it with beings we don’t know. Our ancestors remind us that we must take good care of our environment or else our tanod-lupa will come out,” he said.
The said art installations were appreciated by the netizens, who expressed their excitement to visit the Cultural Center of the Philippines to personally see the outstanding work of the Filipino artist.
Photo Credit:
https://www.facebook.com/rodel.valiente.94
https://www.facebook.com/rodel.valiente.94
