‘History of the Present’ at 1335Mabini
In her first solo exhibition at 1335Mabini titled “History of the Present,” Jill Paz renders the limits between object and being, history and folklore, fact and fiction, permeable.
The works are detailed approximations crafted with photography, painting, computer programs and laser. She uses laser-cutting technology to bore, etch and puncture delicate layers, programing the laser-cutter in such a way it can etch a digital image on cardboard. In such a way, she is able to show the transient and vulnerable nature of paintings as objects: to be open to the possibility that the past and its objects can change, disperse or fall apart into total disarray. But when renovation and complete restoration of history is rendered impossible and quixotic, it may provide the opportune moment to create art that is steeped in life and the histories of the present.
Paz revisited and reinterpreted the body of work of the late 19th century Filipino painter Félix Resurrección Hidalgo (1855-1913), her great granduncle and an important figure in the Philippine art history. Paz’s ancestral homage delved into the unstable nature of the past: as fragments, shards and recollections.
“History of the Present” runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 13 at 1335Mabini at Karrivin Plaza, Makati. For information, visit http://www.1335mabini.com.