Nature and Art as her Healers
For every little thing that we do, a corresponding effect happens to those around us. These unconscious deeds create a sort of butterfly effect that ripples a collective outcome for everyone. As a victim of harassment in the past, Angono artist Sarah Geneblazo’s works are a testament of survival and perseverance; coming from a place where the actions of others, though fickle to them, have profoundly affected her view of life.
In her most recent solo exhibition entitled “The Personal is Collective” she presents a visual narrative in the form of a palpable, artistic experience, using images of greenscapes as a manifestation of her journey towards healing from the past. A total of five paintings, scaled
from three to five feet tall, hang in solemn space portraying nature in conjunction with urban fixtures.
Sarah’s works have leaned towards the concept of biophilia, an idea that people are genetically connected to nature and plant life. Her art process continues to be a form of therapy ever since she was in college, and in portraying greenery as a subject for her solo show, she shares the feeling of ease that she gets from envisioning nature helping her take back her spirit. She states that by painting scenes that feels real enough to “walk into”, her viewers can breathe and heal as she does.
Aside from the ensemble of paintings lining her wall space, what steals the show in her lineup is the adjacent installation of a white tree fixture holding together 236 pieces of painted Mixed Media leaves, most of which have, over time, fallen onto the floor. The piece mirrors the experience of letting go of things from the past, like leaves falling precariously on the ground. Aptly titled “Traces”, each leaf acts as a reminder that certain things have happened and has done its part in affecting us, but it is our responsibility to let go of them and move on.