Ricky Ambagan at Galerie Anna
Currently on view at the Galerie Anna is Ricky Ambagan’s “What Grows in your Garden?”
It’s a seemingly innocent question which artist Ricky Ambagan dares us to answer, the response of which reveals the state of our life. He has used the garden as a metaphor to contemplate the condition of humankind. A garden, as we all know, is a plot of ground where herbs, shrubs, ornamental plants, fruits, flowers and vegetables are cultivated. Larger concerns, however, are implied by Ambagan’s meditation on the allegory of the garden.
In three of his artworks, he invites the viewer to probe into the transformation of man, from his original state of bliss down to the contemporary realities that threaten our very existence on earth. Indeed, like a garden overrun by poisonous ivy and sickening weeds, our lives are now in a state of dissipation, despair, destruction, and virtually an invitation to death.
The magisterial work in the show is Ambagan’s panoramic “Beast from the East.” Dominating the aerial space is the mighty dragon, galloping haughtily as though it owned the world. The dragon is the symbol of that unstoppable power from the east that has been usurping our islands with impunity and to our utter helplessness and despair. Elsewhere, a pair of sumo wrestlers, suggestive of another powerful country, are in a state of combat. The sight alludes to the survival of the species, where the powerful shall have dominance over the weak, though this grossly overfed pair look just like each other’s alter-ego. The puzzling presence of a mosquito coil and a food blender may not be so odd and mysterious. After all, from the perspective of these countries, we are merely the slavish and voracious consumers of their goods. As indicative now by the present crisis in the South China Sea, the threat of a mighty country may just as soon consume us.
All these images are projected against a seeming barren ground, with dried twisted branches creeping all around. Alas, it was once a garden, now sunless and a graveyard for dead flowers. The message of Ambagan has not eluded us. When the artist asks, “What grows in your garden?” we should rightly feel uncomfortable, assailed by our conscience. In haste, we must restore our garden and bring back the sun and the field of flowers. Upon this depends our own, and our country’s salvation.
Galerie Anna is at the 4/F, the Artwalk, Bldg. A., SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. For inquiries, call 470-2511 or 567-9483.