“Buang”, meaning mad or crazy.  In this exhibition, three artists set out to depict something out of the ordinary in their images of the tormented and the anguished.  Philippine art is not lacking in such images:  best known is Sabel, the mad woman scavenging among the garbage cans in Bambang who has undergone multiple transformations in the evolution of National Artist BenCab’s art, or the Man on Fire by National Artist Ang Kiukok, bursting with the emotions of a man on the verge of desperation, or the haunting images of Onib Olmedo who mastered the portrayal of the struggles and inner demons of street corner rascals, drifters, and demimondes.

Continuing the journey in the labyrinth of this theme are artists Oscar Villamiel, Neil Pasilan and Mark Andy Garcia.  Representing three generations, each illustrates his own interpretation of the surreal and macabre among their beloved mad people, asking the question: how mad can mad people be?

In his mixed media works, Villamiel seems to find pure beauty in madness, as he stands humbled and most compassionate to his subjects’ depressing plight.   Contrary to what we associate “madness” with – the lone unshaven scavengers that reek of the trash they earn a living from; the mad intellectual gone out of control while defending an idea only he himself understands; or an old impoverished man in search of food and meaning in life, Villamiel believes that whatever life and its discontents bring, one must act, and act now.  Villamiel wants the viewer to see the necessity to free oneself of senseless things, to run in search of others to help before they “lose it”, to rush to create artworks that “disturb our peace”.

What goes on in the mind of a mad man is the challenge Neil Pasilan wishes to resolve.  To see through his eyes and to show what goes through his head excites this meticulous artist.  His drawings and sculptures delve into the mind of the mad man bordering on the fantastic to the morbid.  In this show his works manifest a strong fixation on “how a man thinks”.

Evident in Mark Andy Garcia’s recent works are brute images reflecting a certain sadness, a longing for a loved one, whether romantic or otherwise, who in his mind has expressed a fleeting optimism that she will pick up his broken pieces and regain the lost love between them.  A mirage of sorts, most viewers will empathize with the thought that we are all gloomy urban dwellers in our quest for a hug, undivided attention or even just a look.

Like a neglected dirty coin in the streets, mad people have become such a constant fixture in our midst that we have turned a blind eye on them as they lie mute in the pervasive culture of silence that surrounds them. They serve as a painful reminder of a possibility we could at any instance be like them.  As mad people remain true to what they live for, these three artists in turn remain faithful to what they see.

The exhibition Buang opens at the Alliance Française Total Gallery on Tuesday, October 20, 2009. It will be on exhibit until November 6, 2009.  For more details about the exhibit, kindly contact  895 7441 / 895 7585 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Or visit the AFM official website at www.alliance.ph