Were you among the people who queued up in WSK's booth at Art Fair Philippines? WSK Axis 2017 Festival offers you that and more.
text and photos by Marz Aglipay
text and photos by Marz Aglipay
Now on its eight edition, WSK Festival is the first of its kind in the country. WSK (short for Wasak) is a platform that highlights new media and other mediums that don't fall within conventional art forms. Most of the works they've exhibited in the past provide an experiential approach to the artists' work, making it accessible to viewers.
Tengal Drillon, Curator and co-founder of the WSK Festival WSK Festival director and curator Tengal Drillon describes how the works in WSK compare to traditional artworks. "To have to get a better appreciation of a painting, you should at least know information of what the painting is [about]. Why did [the artist] choose these strokes? It's a little bit deeper. It's a little bit harder for a person to just appreciate a painting, apart from saying 'Oh it's pretty, I like the colors.' But with this particular work [in WSK], it's instantaneous. You instantly get gratified by the experience of a sensory device."
In this year's Art Fair Philippines, WSK set up a touch-activated sound wall, along with other interactive works. The common denominator of these works is these were made through mechanical or technological means.
In this year's Art Fair Philippines, WSK set up a touch-activated sound wall, along with other interactive works. The common denominator of these works is these were made through mechanical or technological means.
Sound artists Mark Rambo and Tad Ermitano
WSK Axis is a week-long festival which will kick off in October 23 at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, the main venue for their exhibits, workshops and performances. The main exhibition titled "INTERSTICES: Manifolds of the in-between" will feature works by Philippine and Japanese artists, including Ian Carlo Jaucian, Tad Ermitano, Paulina and Ivan Despi, Ryuichi Kurokawa, Houxo Que, and Katsuki Nogami.
"Categorizing some of these works was particularly interesting for me," adds Drillon. "The way we chose to exhibit the artworks are to place them in the hallways, near the elevator, in classrooms, even though this college has a gallery and a museum. It is positioned [to make people ask] where this [kind of art] falls in the Philippine art scene."
Part of the fair program is a collaborative concert by Philippine and Japanese electronic musicians from Maltine records. The concert, titled "x-pol - Buwan Buwan x Maltine" will be held at XX XX in Makati on October 28. Performers include Similarobjects, Moonmask, Meshua, Kashwak from the Philippines and tomad, TORIENA, PARKGOLF, and Pa's Lam System from Japan.
"Categorizing some of these works was particularly interesting for me," adds Drillon. "The way we chose to exhibit the artworks are to place them in the hallways, near the elevator, in classrooms, even though this college has a gallery and a museum. It is positioned [to make people ask] where this [kind of art] falls in the Philippine art scene."
Part of the fair program is a collaborative concert by Philippine and Japanese electronic musicians from Maltine records. The concert, titled "x-pol - Buwan Buwan x Maltine" will be held at XX XX in Makati on October 28. Performers include Similarobjects, Moonmask, Meshua, Kashwak from the Philippines and tomad, TORIENA, PARKGOLF, and Pa's Lam System from Japan.
For complete schedules on talks, workshops and events, please visit www.wsk.io or follow WSK on www.facebook.com/WSK.io.
