The exhibition responds to the challenges of understanding our collective experiences amid the chaos and restlessness of the past year. A River Once Threw It features the works of Kat Grow, Koki Lxx, and Maya Leon. Pieces that range from paintings to videos are informed by the link between rivers and the changing world. The artists ask, “The past years are defined by major flood-related tragedies: we seem to remember the names Ondoy, Yolanda, Ulysses, while the year seems like an afterthought. Is pain simply a memory that lasts longer? Hence, if the pain was not a direct experience, does the memory fade sooner?”

An uncanny connection between rivers and videogame streaming is present in the works of Kat Grow. Hinged on the different contexts of the word “stream”, Grow considers the hours spent as she presents every streaming event and repeatedly utters the same spiels; similarity in how river flows in the same direction through time. In her works, these two distinct but related reflections are injected: spiels scratched onto the surface of her watercolour paintings while in a video work; scenes from the areas of the Angat River are shown and accompanied by the artist’s game streaming voice.

A visual analogy of two rivers encompasses the works of Koki Lxx. Here, Koki relates to the history of colonisation and violence attached to the two rivers of different regions: Han River and the Marikina River. The etymologies of the names of the bodies of water survived underneath a colonial branding. Koki’s other works depict the calm and yet abruptly violent nature of the rivers. 

The duality of the Ganges River as a visible and an invisible force as described by an Indian philosopher prompts Maya Leon's works. Rivers embody spiritual leanings entrenched in the soul. Leon explains, Sa tula, ang ilog ay isang personal na espasyo ng paglulunan, pagluluwal, at paghihinulo (In a poem, a river is a space where one gives birth, among other things). Hence, the variation of colour shades appearing on the canvas is painted like a soft medley that shines under the moonlight.