“Painting Viral”

Ronson Culibrina

July 4 – 22, 2020

The word viral has taken on a new meaning upon the surge in popularity of the Internet and social

media in the last decade or so, becoming commonly associated with content that spreads rapidly and

widely in the cyberworld. The recent pandemic, though, has brought to the fore its original definition—

once again the term resonates in public discourse as a form of infection, a threat to one’s health—one

that has drastically altered how the world operates for the past few months and has impacted the lives

of millions.

In this exhibition by Ronson Culibrina, the viral relates to both the novel disease and the situation it has

created, and the way images are encountered and circulated in these times. In the paintings, the artist

chronicles various scenes of the current pandemic: people wearing face masks, temperature monitoring

at checkpoints, relief goods distribution, queues and social distancing, sanitation and disinfection. He

employs a similar iridescent palette seen in his most recent works, a combination of vivid colors inspired

by oil spills in water surfaces which he uses to suggest ideas of tragedy, chaos and disorder, hope and

aspiration. Intensifying the contrast between shadows and luminous paints this time, he pictures the

scenes as if on a twilight, setting them in a liminal moment that could perhaps indicate a transition to a

new state of existence, or as the current buzzword refers to—the new normal. The glowing figures in

this rendering also make the scenes somewhat reminiscent of thermal images, bringing to mind body

heat as a symptom of the infectious disease and the usual sight of temperature checks as a requisite for

entry in many establishments nowadays.

These are all familiar images that we may have personally observed on the streets, but as restrictions on

people’s outdoor mobility have been imposed in many places, these scenes could well be snapshots of

the outside world trending on the Internet and our social media feeds. Amid lockdowns and

quarantines, it is a high time of reliance on online modes of transmission and circulation of information,

among other life routines now conducted virtually. For the artist himself, the Internet and social media

were indispensable tools to proceed with his creative process while staying at home. From recurring

images of life during this pandemic, he highlights struggles and precautions for survival. It remains

uncertain whether these compositions would reflect the new norms of daily life, or become arresting

visual accounts of a seismic historical moment.

Curated by Ryan Francis Reyes

         The Working Animals Art Projects