C1 MARK JUSTINIANI X INFINITY
of Justiniani’s infinite space. He was fascinated by jeepney slogans, and as an artist catching an inverted word (“SARAW” as “WARAS”) in a rearview mirror, he hit upon mirroring as an extension of our perception of reality. “A mirror is a two-dimensional surface that carries three-dimensional images,” he notes. “It already extends us to another dimension.” Later, he did art exploring word fold-ins: “Things like the 1986 revolution sharing the same numbers with 1896. Or the word ‘Pilipinas’ is near — it’s not exact — to inalipin, or ‘enslaved.’”
Those inversions show up in “Arkipelago,” such as the reflection on a blackboard of “America” inverted to “A cinema”— and a floating ViewMaster, the American version of the 3D stereoscope. Mark tells us “the first images of the Philippines sent to the US as a new colony was a stereoscope. So we were first shown in the US in 3D.”
Justiniani is self-effacing about his installations. “I’m not the first one to do this,” he admits. “There have been other ‘infinitors.’” The title of the show itself — “Void of Spectacles” — harks to the idea of seeing through different lenses, but also the idea that this is all just show and tell. “The work can be actually criticized as just being a spectacle, if you don’t look at it closely.” Something with infinite depth has ironically been critiqued by some as shallow. “When some reviewed my show, they knew that was one of the weaknesses — by weakness, meaning the visual aspect is just too strong, so that it dilutes what I want to say. So we have to be aware of that.”
Videos and conceptual drawings accompany the exhibit, showing Justiniani’s process of constructing infinite layers. The sheer display of vision and attention to detail merits close viewing. Maybe you’ll even see something that’s not really there. Justiniani speaks of “ghost limbs,” that sensation amputees may feel when they press their stump next to a mirror, and imagine the leg still there. “It serves a function, it fills in the gap,” he says. “There’s an aspect of a lot of memories that have been erased, so we’re trying to recover it through reflection. Reflection as individuals, or as a nation.”
Mark Justiniani’s “Void of Spectacles: Reflections on Passages Through Time and History” is showing on the 3rd floor, Fredesvinda Almeda Consunji Gallery, Ateneo Art Gallery until July 6.