Street art collab offered after vandalism
LOCAL artist Venazir Martinez has decided to collaborate with the self - confessed vandal of her work, as she refused to file criminal charges.
Police identified Belimar Badua, 27 – year - old, tattoo artist and a resident of Marcoville Barangay, as the person of interest in vandalizing the National Commission for Culture and
Arts funded mural.
“Mulling over Billy’s background, I’ve heard from sources that he keeps getting
involved into trouble mainly because of his acts of vandalism and other things. Imprisonment is not a solution to this kind of situation. Analyzing everything, I think an effective tool is creating a space for affirmation of his credibility as an artist. As well as igniting his innate shared inner self – pakikipagkapwa,” Martinez said.
Martinez explained she will collaborate if it is for a community project, similar to her trademark “Hilabana,” series.
“I would love to see him lead the community of underground artists to create a big piece of public art. This medium is an effective tool to give voice for the street art community, not just the mainstream. During the production of this discourse, I’ll help in creating a dialogue with wall owners and written proposals to help widen their scope of influences,” Martinez added.
Badua was identified by residents of Marcoville as the culprit in the defacing of the Martinez murals. Barangay officials also attest that Badua has been pinpointed to commit the same offense in the past.
Police had to interview witnesses from jeepney drivers and dispatchers located at PNR staging area, security guards of Victory Liner terminal, security guards and food delivery services in pinning Badua.
“I am a street artist and an educator, although I’m not part of the underground art scene, I strive to develop an inclusive world view with regards to street art. I believe that instilling positive reinforcement will spark formative progress-not change, within Billy and the community’s mindset. This issue generated flashes of reactions and opinions from the locality which I found very beautiful that helped enriched the core concept of street art as a medium,” Martinez said.
Officers also went to Marcoville and had a dialogue with village barangay captain
Ruel Casuga and secured a copy of the CCTV footage located near the Victory Liner Terminal before arranging the meeting with Martinez and Badua on October 13.
“It was a two-day meditation, as I was indeed hurt. I’ve been visually reformulating this project for four years then emerged the revengeful nature of street art. But in the end, as an empath, I respect his perception of art. The only solution to this issue is to meet halfway and create a bridge for creative space. I think my decision not to file any charges, instead producing another collaborative material for dialogue, will not only instill positive progress to the individual, but also to the surfaced level thinking of most of our virtual community who are avid fans of public humiliation and negativity. Adding up to the virulence of the world aspires stupidity and retribution,” Martinez added.
Martinez claimed she used to do vandals for an academic paper of experimenting the culture of street art in accordance to instilling the theory of Gestalt in the locality and later developed into what is now, Project Hila-bana.
But the street mural artists reiterated she never desecrated another artist’s work out of revenge.
“For artists who find honor and excellence in vandalizing public properties, think twice before spraying that can. As creatives of this developing country, we should set aside first our individualistic culture and immerse ourselves within the heart of the community. We are a city of creativity, there are many platforms where one can create a public dialogue. First step, if you want your name (tag) to be all over town, which is essentially the meaning of tagging, initiate a project where our souls can connect. Learn to exercise creativity with respect to the community, serve, it feels good,” the lady artist said.