Each artist in this iteration tackles the delicate interplay between globalization and local culture and confronts the difficulty of establishing one's identity in the constant shift between the rural-urban domains.
Extending the road to survive unfamiliarity and establishing artistic and economic niches and communities determine the horizon upon which artists in the diaspora understand themselves, emerge as alternative groups, and express their diverse experiences of culture and identity in a shifting realm.
Kalibunan 2, the second Kalibunan Series iteration, echoes horror vacui or “the fear of emptiness” as a form that relates to the complexities and effects of the artist's environment on their creative process and output. Each artist in this iteration tackles the delicate interplay between globalization and local culture and confronts the difficulty of establishing one's identity in the constant shift between the rural-urban domains. Their work is defined not just by cross-cultural experiences but also by a continual shifting of values, expressing alternative narratives and challenging the ideas and structures of the established art world.
Aside from “the fear of empty spaces” in an artistic composition, horror vacui embossed strong affiliations in the diaspora. Just like how empty spaces discern discomfort, transnational bonds, migration, re-migration to a third residence, or return to homeland provokes different tendencies in restraining “the fear of empty spaces” from unfamiliarity. The artists in this exhibition present the various means of adaptation to rekindle one’s existence which resurfaces from the disconnection of familiar routine, culture and system, discipline, and narrative.
