THE SHELF LIFE OF BEING
Poeleen Alvarez
Poeleen Alvarez (b. 1998) is a visual artist who lives and works in Bulacan, Philippines. Her collages and intermedia works draw inspiration from the visual culture and rhetoric of popular media. With an inclination to art history, her work is heavily influenced by theories on appropriation, visual communication, and Rod Paras-Perez’s concept of the Filipino Baroque – the aesthetic affinity for boisterous colors and gaudy ornamentation. Her practice is informed by her training in printmaking, ceramics, and the digital arts. Alvarez received her BFA in Painting (2018) and Art History (2020) from the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
“Isa marahil sa sintomas ng postmodernidad ang paghahanap ng nawawalang dios; nawawala sapagkat namatay na daw siya, sabi ni Nietzsche, bagaman hindi matagpuan ang bangkay. Kaya naman ito ang pinagkaabalahan ko sa loob ng tatlong taon na winaksan lamang ng pagsapit ng pandemya: ang paghahanap ng transcendental (na kadalasan ay incidental) sa mga singit-singit at liblib na sulok ng habangbuhay na araw-araw. Itong zine ay binubuo ng mga naimbak na imahen ng dios, mga dios-diosan (kung saan nakapaloob dito ang Tatay at si Nancy ng Momoland), at mga -ismong matatagpuan lamang sa mga pambalot ng tinapa at pintuan ng CR, na kung tawagin ng hopeless romantic ay “sign.”