Self-talk

As often as people are molded by change, they become subject to chaos. All circumstances, even the ones we painstakingly avoid, have every chance of occurring within the grand scheme of things. In this chaos, with foundations shaken and notions redefined, we eventually learn to accept what is abolished and what is left behind — and from there, construct ourselves anew.

While conversing with his canvas through brush strokes, these musings are what abstract artist August Lyle Espino confess in “Self-Talk”. From his usual method of augmenting details to plotted sketches and contours, Espino frees himself from creative constraints by doing things in reverse — painting as he wills and making sense of it later. In this process, the artist breaks away from previous artistic preferences and confronts the products of raw expression as they come — carnage, macabre, misplaced elements, somber colors and all. Through abstract visuals of skin, flesh, veins and bones; Espino presents living beings stripped of their outer shell and rebuilding new identities from their bare selves. Eventually, as every element falls into place, the canvas converses back — showing the beauty behind the turmoil, the reward of gracefully transforming and embracing change.

There is dissonance in facing the inevitable. Growth, while sometimes an uphill climb, may also be a metamorphosis — an overhaul which forces us to change what we deem acceptable, to abandon the things we associate with comfort, and learn to find meaning in the midst of the struggle. This reality shows that change, while riddled with ordeals, is a splendid part of the human experience. All these realizations are captured as August converses with his subconscious — a discourse that he, through his art, invites us to bear witness.

Text by Kyla Romero

Selected works from Self-talk