alike.com.ph—“What happens when beauty fades? What happens when the hype fades?”
Some say that since social media’s conception, it has been taking over our lives slowly and that we are willingly letting it. The things we see on Instagram, or in any other social media platform for that matter, aren’t always the case when it comes to reality. We know some people in real life who act as if they are completely different persons online. Have you ever stopped to think about anyone’s intentions for posting anything online?
People nowadays go through great lengths just to take good photos that they can show other people. They shoot photos at sacred and solemn places, put their lives at risk, and harm the environment (or animals) just for the sake of likes. It’s like a never-ending chase towards feeding egos—which makes us think, are they even still present in the moment itself?
Despite so many issues in the world, we tend to focus on these mundane things. It feels so common to us now that we can get to know and read people through how they appear in online. But when we actually take the time to dwell on that, isn’t it weird how naked we’re allowing ourselves to be towards what basically is a bunch of strangers? In fact, we should be bothered with how normal it has become now.
This is precisely what the exhibit “Fools’ Paradise—Tricks & Retreats” intends to discuss.
Nikki Valenzuela, known as Nikki Ocean in the art scene, believes that it’s important to question even what appears to be the most normal things in our life and reflect on what we consider important. According to the artist behind this exhibit, substance gets pushed to the background when we’re so busy curating our persona. Everyone’s posting more or less the same things and there’s this unspoken competition between everyone. Just because most people are doing it doesn’t mean that we have to follow suit.
Nikki likes confronting subjects that people seem to stay mum about. This exhibit goes right up that alley. It shows exactly how social media is affecting lives—people have made a shell of their true selves. They reinvent themselves online and manually shape their identity, eventually becoming a character with just a semblance to the real person underneath.
The painter admits that she doesn’t conform to what artists “should” be—that they shouldn’t even be boxed in by the social expectations of the craft. Her interests aren’t exactly what you’d say traditional, but she’s not deliberately choosing to be identified as different either. Instead, she just allows herself to create what she really connects to.
Upon entering the “Fools’ Paradise—Tricks & Retreats” space at Finale Art File, Makati, you’ll immediately notice the neon lights that light up the artworks, sand on the corners of the room, a hanging bikini top, beach shawl, and yoga mat. It’s almost like a dream sequence, with the choice of colors in the paintings and bright lights. All the details helped form the whole experience. I particularly liked the effect of the “No Trespassing” sign for the “private beach.”
Nikki, having lived in La Union, shared that when she was a kid, the only thing that would light up the beach were stars. Now, there are all sorts of lights and formations that make it all very synthetic, which is where she drew inspiration to make the space look attractive.
She chose to name the collection “Fools’ Paradise” because so many of us try so hard to remain in that state of appearances. We focus on personas and cling so hard to the escape we find ourselves in, refusing to face “reality.” That is going after a paradise that doesn’t exist.
People adjust many aspects of their life, trying so hard to conform and sell themselves. They begin to be defined and controlled by things just for appearances, an endless chase for manufactured bliss.
Just beside the words on the exhibit is an oil on canvas painting titled “Fool Moon.” There’s obviously a wordplay going on there. It’s dark, very dim, and almost has an “unwelcoming” vibe in the sense that it is convincing you to leave the fools’ paradise. It’s putting to note that a fool’s moon wouldn’t be as bright, as one is actually just trapping himself in a sort of limbo, trying to remain in the state of perfection and appearances.
Nikki said that her favorite piece in the collection would have to be “Snake Pit.” The piece shows a scene you can find in the deep sea, something that’s wonderful but also eerily foreign. It’s like you’re diving and you see a great view before you which gives you a sense of relief at first, but then makes you worry if there’s anything unexpected that will come out and surprise you.
A curious creation that you could definitely imagine to exist in a fools’ paradise is “This Is Not a Unicorn.” One of the first things you could sense from it is danger. It’s like something that would trigger off our evolutionary survival response. It makes one feel as if you were looking at a poisonous animal and your brain is signaling to back off a little bit.
Quite the contrary, “Saccharine” is a painting that tries to be menacing, but its soft colors convey that there’s nothing to be afraid of. It may first remind one of a tiger’s stripes, but when you stare at it longer, you’ll realize it features similar patterns of a deep sea creatures.
Meanwhile, in “From a Series of Noise (Filter #7),” there are so many images to see. I recognized a hint of a palm tree, a stream, a sky, and also the side of a mountain with green pastures. Somehow they all blend into one picture full of fantasy and life.
“Warped Rainbow” is a particular favorite of mine in the exhibit. There’s a moon of pretty hues that almost looks like it’s emerging out of the frame. Its background is like a night sky. It’s the colors that really hooked me in this one, and I love the title too. They all just fit together so well.
“Seduction” may not have the same light colors and aura as most of the painting in the collection, but it does fall under the theme it partakes. It shows a jellyfish in the deep sea in deep tones of purple. When asked about the meaning of the title, Nikki said that jellyfish are pretty but they also have stingers, driving the point that they’re beautiful but they can cause pain.
The central painting, “Schools,” gives you a certain calmness. The scene looks as if the fish are rushing to get somewhere, yet you happened to catch a glimpse of one frozen frame. My first thought upon seeing the piece was that it reminded me of Studio Ghibli’s “Ponyo.”
“Fools’ Paradise” is Nikki’s second show in a trilogy of exhibits. She plans to show different parts of life: Kindergarten, Fools’ Paradise, and Memento Mori. She wants each one to be a different part of a spectrum in such a way that with every life phase comes a different color palette, because life is ever changing.
She titled her artworks much like how you’d title a poem—through the use of metaphors. She said that she viewed the entire space as a poem, and that’s exactly what she feels when she paints—as if she was writing a poem.
Her creative undertakings are an attempt to have art mirror what she has experienced in the world. But Nikki’s keen not to label herself as an artist. In fact, she thinks of herself more as a writer than she is a professional artist, simply because she loves talking about life. “I’m a person who paints. I’m a person who writes. I’m not anything. I just am what I am,” she stated.
“What’s important is that you’re truthful and you do good work,” Nikki said.
Featuring eight paintings, “Fools’ Paradise—Tricks & Retreats” will only be on exhibit at the Finale Art File Video Room until Feb. 11. Do yourself a favor and find some time to go visit, and most of all, enjoy your stay!
Photos by Vinz Lamorena
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