A Tayabasin now living in London is making waves for his “vibrant” paintings that emulate Filipino legends.
AFTER completing his studies in the Philippines, 31-year-old Kulay Labitigan, who was born in Tayabas, Quezon, received a scholarship for a master’s degree in Narrative Environments at Central Saint Martins-University of the Arts – London, one of the world's top art and design schools.
The offer came after he completed his Fine Arts degree at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Since then, he has created a number of artworks including the stunning painting for Kasa and Kin, a Filipino restaurant in London.
The painting features kaleidoscopic patterns, harlequin imagery, and the vibrant plumage of an Ibong Adarna, brightening everyone's meals.
Kulay said Adarna has a lot of diverse meanings for various people.
The bird is also closely associated with nesting, which comes back to the meaning of Kasa & Kin being a home.
But what resonates to me more is the bird as an animal of flight and migration.
“These are powerful reflections for every Filipino and non-Filipino dining in the restaurant,” Kulay muses.
Moving to London has been a life-changing move, the artist added.
“This extraordinary experience made me realize that home transcends the physical and that my own roots and life story of growing up in rural Philippines – including my anecdotes as a Southeast Asian gay man and all fragments of my personal concept of home – informs my creative practice,” he said.
“I am proud to see that this has made my work relevant, distinct, and most importantly, a medium that connects and gives people who experience my art a sense of belonging,” Kulay added.
Kulay’s Tayabasin roots
Kulay has been creating work for the past 15 years, experimenting with a variety of media and creative fields including theatrical production, 3D installation arts, and illustration.
Some of his illustrations may be found in Jollibee stores across the United Kingdom, including one in London.
Kulay was born into a family of artisans, farmers, and business owners in Tayabas.
Hespent his boyhood in the picturesque town with profound local traditions, copying religious images carved on the ceiling of the 16th century San Miguel de Arcangel Basilica and witnessing plays and shows at the local theater.
He claims that this is when he first became aware of art.
For three years in a row in Tayabas, he mounted his own shadow-in-the-street project, creating shadow folkloric images on empty abandoned walls along highways while locals made the annual hours-long panata walk to the Kamay Ni Hesus Shrine in Lucban, Quezon.
photo Opinyon Quezonin
photo Opinyon Quezonin
photo Opinyon Quezonin
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