the fire within

After more than 4 years, I am actually going back to creating my own work. My entire life for the past couple of years have been spent opening up boutiques, galleries, the hotel and helping out artists in any way possible and balancing family life - so that leaves the remaining 3-4 hours of my day sleeping. Yes, I am still human after all.

So when I got an invitation to do a one man exhibition in Luang Prabang, Laos, I said yes and there came the push that I needed after all these years. My last major show was in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games and I thought I have been more complacent about developing myself further as an artist. So this Laos exhibition in November is truly another great reason for me to drown myself in my own universe with an exhibition entitled THE FIRE WITHIN.

 

The Fire Within is primarily a commentary on subjugation, censorship, and the human tendency to reignite the flame of freedom that has long thought been extinguished. Using original photographs taken from all over Asia and placed as puzzles on hundreds of match boxes, the works represent the faces of everyday people and their poetic representations confronted by their daily march towards happiness, their journeys towards it or the utter lack of it.

Meant to be opened and tinkered with, these matchboxes also randomly contain woven words, found objects and other pieces of thoughts. 

These works can either be placed as installations on walls, tables, floors and a variety of other available indoor surfaces.

 Above are the smaller sample pieces of the photography-based installations from the series. I am currently working on larger works and incorporating details on each match so the viewer can break down the image and be introduced into smaller stories encompassing each part.

More sleepless nights to come...

Epic weddings and fake Rolexes

Last week was whirlwind of double weddings and pre nup shoots. I had this particular couple who drove all the way from Poipet, near the Thai border who tried several photographers but somehow, couldn't get the drama they wanted on their photos. 

So when they met me, they only had one request... for their photos to look epic and cinematic... as if they have stepped into a film set. They liked the look of the classic photos of yore.

So here's what we did for them... 

Black and white. It never gets old.

 This didn't actually start well at first. Call time for us was 4 am, because they wanted sunrise shots but they didn't show up until 7 in the morning. I guess they had the same Rolex watch supplier as Lady Gaga. I was a little pissed (you know me and waking up early!) but as soon as the shoot started rolling, the fun began.

Shooting in Angkor Wat is a moment in itself.

The groom turned into my assistant director. He was really excited with all this and ended up coaching his bride-to-be on all the proper poses and smiles.

What was originally a 4 hour shoot turned into a 12 hour production! After each session, they would come back and say... "we loved it... let's do more." 

So what was supposed to be a simple shoot in the temples almost turned into a citywide thing. But at the end of the day, we all went home very happy. 

shooting the queen and wrestling a llama

Okay, I admit. I need to get a life. I've been pretty stuck with work and the new shop for the past months that I almost forgot the existence of life beyond the office -that's the very reason why I haven't uploaded anything on my blog in like 5 months. I haven't touched my Facebook account since the French Revolution. I haven't upoaded anything on my Flickr account since Alexander the Great last tried conquering India. And my Friendster account (if that thing still exists), has been hibernating since the last Ice Age. It's sort of a llama (yes, the animal) of responsibility that I've been wrestling for the past months.

Recession has hit us pretty hard here that we have to sweat our asses more than the usual in order to make ends meet. And me, grappling with a monster (monsters actually) I've created (a design studio with an army of people to feed, and two shops/boutiques/galleries that we've invested on) have no choice but to be a slave to this llama of choice.

But as I'm hit in the head with the realization that I actually need to go back to things that I enjoy doing in the past before I lose passion with them completely, I am turning around my life by going back to my blog. Again.


Had a really cool chance of photographing Cambodia's Queen Mother recently as official photographer to her state visit to the Artisans d' Angkor.


Cambodians stood in unity to welcome Her Royal Highness, Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk in Siem Reap last week.


As the queen mother and the king father are these days, based in Beijing, China, their return to Siem Reap is truly a momentous occasion. They were greeted by an immense throngs of people from all walk of life.


The Queen Mother, originally named Paule-Monique Izzi, was born from a French, Corsican, Italian father and a Cambodian mother.


That explains her lovely bi-racial features... and her uncanny resemblance to England's Queen Elizabeth II.


At Artisans d' Angkor, she was presented with a gift of a finely carved gold leaf encrusted Buddha statue for her inspiring help to the project. In return, she presented everyone with gifts too!


But the clincher was when she asked to do an offering to the presented statue. She asked her staff for incense as offering, but no one in the crowd had a match to light it up. As everybody rushed to find her a match, I came to the rescue by offering her my lighter. She gladly accepted it, smiled and gave it to the Royal Protocol Officer (that's him lighting the incense with MY lighter) who gladly gave it back to me after the ceremony.


She left afterwards on board the Royal Benz #003. She wowed the crowd with her remarkable royal presence. And I, being scorned for being a smoker, learned one valuable lesson that day. Smoking can lead to royal connections.

I think I'll put my lighter up for auction on Ebay pretty soon. That may just be the end of the recession for me...

helluvaweek!

High season has officially cast its blessed spell in sleepy Siem Reap and hopefully, all of Cambodia. Proof of this is the fact that I haven’t touched my blog in a week or even read any blogs at all! It started late last week with a photoshoot at a new boutique hotel that's opening soon - The Sothea.


Aside from the shoot, we are doing all of their marketing collaterals and promotions. This is a tough one since my client is actually my wife who is Senior Sales Manager of the hotel, so there is definitely no escaping this one! This shoot is for her sales trip to Australia in the next few weeks.


It's also the start of the 4th annual Angkor Photo Festival which brings in the best photographers around the world for a weeklong festival and series of exhibitions around. This year, I was helping out with two galleries - the McDermott Gallery with their marketing collaterals and the Friends Center Gallery of which my team handled a handful of things for - from the interior design to the marketing and even the installation of the new exhibition. The new artist featured here is Steve McCurry, whose portrait of "the Afghan Girl" is the most recognizable photograph in the history of National Geographic.

A team of six young Filipino photographers are also present to represent the country and we are making sure that they feel at home here!



We are also married to our cameras these past few days (and for the next weeks to come!) with a series of more photoshoots along the way. Yesterday, we did a wedding shoot for a Japanese couple at the Orient Express hotel. With shoots on the temples and a full day affair to cover, it was a back-breaking work.

We have two more hotels next week due for a shoot and a couple more weddings and corporate events to cover.


The Spoolworks photography team - Brewster, Kristian and Vincent. I don't think I will ever survive this season without them... and more so keep up with blogging!

It was definitely a tough week and more so in the next weeks to come. I now miss the times when I could linger longer in the office ogling though everyone's blogs or messing with mine. With my hard drive crashing down to oblivion last week, I also have to work double time to redo those lost files. These are definitely the times when you wish that there are 48 hours in a day!

So if I haven't updated my blog in the next three months, I hope blogger doesn't give up on me and delete my blog for good...

celebrity clicks

The great thing about being in Cambodia is being able to meet great personalities that not in my wildest dreams would even think of rubbing shoulders with - how much more having a chance to take their photos!

These are a compilation of recent portraits and photography work I've done with for the past couple of months...


I was official photographer for Ricky Martin's outreach visit in support for kids around the world through his Ricky Martin Foundation - the Cambodian leg, that is... He is just genuinely a very noble person! The only funny thing was people started asking for his autographs... on pirated cd's!


I did a photo shoot with Philippine Senator Loren Legarda on location at the 15th century temple Wat Attwiya... her top is by Ilonggo designer Jaki Penalosa and neckpiece by Don Protasio (http://www.fuchsiaboy.blogspot.com/)

with Wat Attwiya monks... top is by Romyda Keth for Khmer Attitude

I asked Senator Legarda to "embroider" the flag ala Teodora Agoncillo... this shoot turned out to be really fun! My friend Don Protasio helped out with the styling.


HRH King Mizan Zainal Abidin of Malaysia at Sofitel's greens. For a king of one of Asia's wealthiest states, was very casual, approachable and low key.

Celestina designer Tina Ocampo has conquered the pages of Vogue with her ingenious designs of exquisite accessories... I took this photo of her at the poolside of Raffles Grand Hotel... filled to the brim with glowing candles as she requested for an event.

The most powerful man in Cambodia - Prime Minister Hun Sen prepares for a swing of golf at the Sofitel Phokeetra Angkor Golf Resort at the opening of the Johnnie Walker Classic Tournament

We had a great opportunity to have christmas lunch with New York designer Rafe Totengco on his visit to Siem Reap. I took this portrait of him at Hotel de la Paix when he was sketching his latest shoe designs for the 2008 season...

President Ruth Dreifuss is Switzerland's first female president. I had a chance to photograph her when I was official photographer of Raffles Grand Hotel of her official visit to Cambodia

I have never seen an army and security of that immensity prepare for an official visit than HRH Thai Princess Maha Chakry Sarinthorn.

Some of the reasons why moving to Cambodia from Manila wasn't a bad idea after all!

saffron memories

Last year, during this time, I opened my exhibition at the McDermott Gallery by the Passage called Saffron Spirit. Though it was my second exhibition in Cambodia, this exhibit paved the way for countless other exhibitions- at the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor, Raffles Hotel Le royal in Phnom Penh, UP Gallery in Iloilo and iideas Gallery in Manila. And soon in Beijing for the Olympic exhibition. I can't believe it's been a year already!



the exhibition...



with an installation... it was hell removing the threads when the work was bought and shipped to Denmark



another one with an installation. It was a good thing the buyer opted to have the stickers instead of shipping the water bottles to Japan!


My first and most favorite piece. I did the embroidery with my wife, that's why it was hard to part with it. Now in Singapore in the home of a very good friend, Christy.


The first piece bought on the opening night.


Now in Washington DC

Now in Singapore

One of the two pieces bought by a good friend now hanging in her New York loft

The other piece which is now in New York

Now in Malaysia

This work is now in the Hotel Be

Bought by a designer friend - Eric Raisina from Madagascar which now hangs in his office.

This was one which I brought to the Philippines for a show. This is now with my former boss, Susan Salcedo who is now based in Singapore. She flew in last year from Manila with her friend Ellen to see the show in Cambodia!

This one now resides in the office of my Spanish boss and very dear friend Alfredo Roca who is now an honorary Filipino... he has supported me greatly during my struggling years in Manila and he flew in especially for my exhibition opening in Iloilo.

This piece was bought at the Red Gallery exhibition by a US-based Filipino.

Out of 34 works, I only have around a dozen left, and will be saying goodbye to two more tomorrow when I ship them off to China... sigh... it's difficult parting with something you have poured your heart, sweat and soul into. That's why I refuse to put their titles here. I only want to remember the places where they are now...