Lap 33

Wipo

Wipo becomes more aware of himself when running. From finishing certain laps to starting new sets, he often asks, “Kumusta ang paghinga mo?”, a question that doesn’t necessarily require a definite answer but rather a gesture at self-awareness. He understands that running requires proper form and posture, however he also acknowledges that the body voluntarily adjusts itself as the track changes and as the pacing shifts in momentum or when gravity starts to weigh him down. He’s more mindful of specific moments — his breathing and his pulse — and he applies the same stream of consciousness in life and his creative process.custom jerseys wholesale wigs headband wigs nfl fantasy custom soccer jerseys nfl shop com nfl custom jersey nike air max mens nike air jordan mens nike air jordan shoes free sex toys nfl dallas cowboys best place to buy sex toys green bay packers jersey cheap nba jerseys

The artist meditates on life in ways that prompts him to look, observe, reflect, and reimagine things around him, and such processes have no fixed sequence. He indulges in the uncertainties of his own experiences, whether it’s the conscious awareness of the mind or what his senses perceive as real. For Wipo, there are ideas and realizations that are difficult to put into words, and may only make sense in another time; perhaps the reason the exhibit comprises paintings that include some undone pieces from 2017 to 2023 which he eventually revisited to finish. Wipo turns the focus back to the abstract qualities of his art and their formulations based on his own amalgamation of visual representations.

In Lap 33, the added layers of strokes, twirls and smears on Wipo’s new series of paintings represent varying degrees of emotion, incoherence of memory, and the absurdities of living. However, their underlayers would reveal the same process and known abstraction of Wipo: playful, instinctive, and spontaneous. He employed more varied and vigorous twirls and applied vibrant colors (a departure from the usual color palette he uses) to render a secondary layer of paint.

The physiological demands of running manifest in how Wipo lives at present, ”Paano mo tinatakbo ang ‘yong buhay?,” he wonders. As the artist embraces uncertainties, the exhibit offers a glimpse into a more refined and  expanded awareness of his present existence — encapsulated and framed within a canvas.

-James Luigi Tana