Who: Creative Street’s Artists
What: Life on Mars Exhibit
When: March 5-7, 12:00 into 9:00 p.m.
Where: Afters Espresso and Desserts
Why: Exhibit with themes covering dreamy, futuristic, unearthly, myth-infused, speculative or a mix of each.

Facts:

This is Creative Street’s first commercial Exhibit
It featured works of Creative Street’s Artists and Volunteers
Life on Mars ran for three days from Mar 5-7, 2021

Jettison to the unknown World: The Life on Mars Exhibit

On February 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance (insert URL) made its landing on Mars, commencing its journey to discover ancient life and collect rock samples on the red planet. Barely completing a month after its landing, traces of life were already found. Well, almost.

At least in our constructed reality, when Life is juxtaposed with Mars, several worlds are uncovered, and an exhibit is conceived.

In Howard Zinn’s foreword in Redefining the Movement: Art Activism (insert hyperlink), the author mentioned that artists must not settle on what is perceived as normal. After all, the thought process in creating art, regardless of form, exists in the boundaries created by society. It is part of the artists’ responsibility to transcend what is conventional to extraordinary. However, this does not mean being detached from the social realities. Both the artists and the artworks must not exist in a vacuum. This is exactly the context of why Life on Mars was conceived.

Life on Mars is Creative Street’s take on reimaging life, both retrospectively and what could have been. The exhibit covered visual works that dare to go beyond normalcy: dreamy, futuristic, unearthly, myth-infused, speculative or a mix of each. It is a simple dare to the artists — to go beyond their comfort zones yet remain true to their art styles. To explore the unknown, as what an astronaut or an adventurer might say.

One may claim the themes covered are a hodgepodge of unrelated scopes, barely defining life or Mars itself. But, this is exactly the heart of Philippine Contemporary Art: A Sari-Sari store with just too much to offer in a crowded space, as the author Gina Fairley claims. In an epoch where social interactions are limited to digital space, Life on Mars positions itself as an all-encompassing exhibit that echoes the shared vision of the artists. It behoves the audience to study the artworks and pick which one resonates with their internalised ideal world, whether imagined or already realized.

Life on Mars featured the works of Gini Aala, Johnsent Talento, Ramon Sediego, Jack Pestaño, Marvel Obemio, Ian Tuzon, Benzson Escobin, Marby Esteban, and Lhan Napa. The exhibit happened on March 5-7, 2021, from 12nn to 9:00 p.m. at Afters Espresso and Desserts in Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Life on Mars will not be possible without Aldous, the coordinator, and Vincent, the owner of Afters.

GALLERY:

Creative Street is a volunteer organization that provides free art workshops to disadvantaged youth. It also advocates producing safe spaces by mounting exhibits with themes anchored on freedom of expression.