Migdal Bavel

 

 

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"Behold the Tower of Babel,
out in the glare of white sheet,
bold and brash like a winged sepulcher.

There it is!
Defiantly perched, full of pride.
Signaling the fall of man's might." 

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March 2009, a few days after the failed assault of a cab driver who tried to run off with most of my stuff, I decided to go out on a photowalk with some friends to calm my nerves. We went to check out the Quezon Memorial Circle which was right smack at the center of the infamous elliptical road in Quezon City (I'd like to call it the "merry-go-round road" by the way). I have been living in Metro Manila for quite some time but I was never been to such national landmarks. My reason? No time at all. If given the time, I would be broke. Give or take, either which. 

The Quezon Memorial Shrine is dedicated to the Philippine's second official president, Manuel L. Quezon. A sarcophagus is located inside the shrine which houses the remains of the former president. Quite visible from a few kilometers afar, the first thing you would notice would be the monument's three vertical pylons which represents the three main geographic archipelago of the Philippines (namely Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao). With a height of 66 meters (Quezon's age of death), the massive tower is surmounted by three mourning angels holding a wreath of sampaguita, the national flower. 

The snippet poem I made above was a direct homage to the biblical passage of the Tower of Babel. Ironically, Manuel. L. Quezon has been dubbed as "The Father of the National Language" and the Buwan ng Wika (Month of the National Language) was therefor wholly dedicated to him and that particular title.

"Looks like Isengard," used to be my initial reaction every single time I pass the elliptical road.

"...except for the Art Deco angels."

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Weapon of choice is my Diana+ Edelweiss and a roll of expired Fuji RMS slide120mm. Images are NOT to be printed or used without my consent.

Tellie Invasion

A product of boredom and some cardboard laying around my friend's house. I remember it was August back in 2009; it was raining all week and most of the time I was just watching some sloppy local tv shows.

To kick the habit and at the same time hype up my motivation, I met with my friend Jane Bernadette and we started conceptualizing some photoshoot ideas on a whim. Basically the things we used were the said cardboard boxes, tape, glue and markers. Top it off with some wig (my friends are into cosplaying) and our goofy expressions, we were good to go.

It was downright fun, albeit my neighbors' staring and the occasional rain.

Also check out the video we made from this shoot... in color! (hah!)

Weapon of choice is my sidekick Holga 120FN and a roll of expired Shanghai Black and White iso100 120mm. Images and videos are NOT to be printed or used without my consent. Like a boss.

Mushroom Hunting

Come august the weather becomes a tease, at least for us filipinos. The day starts perfectly with the sun shining, by mid-day the gentle breeze reels in grey clouds and a heavy downpour precedes in the afternoon. This goes on for days on end even lasting for a few months. I really don't mind it, after all I stay indoors where I could cuddle up with my pets.

There are also pauses for this strange weather (thank goodness) and that is when my dogs, filled with anxiety and excitement, beg me to take them for a walk. And thus starts our mushroom hunting adventure! Here are some of what our yard had to offer:

Wild edible mushrooms

I'm no expert so please bear with the generic names. But as much as what my neighbor told me; when mushrooms (the ones growing on our area) have no rings in the stem, has a clean root, bears no spots on the cap, and with natural borne colors among others; then the general idea is it's most likely edible (note the uncertainty? hah!)  

The errr... inedible ones (aka eat-them-nots)

See the difference? Still planning on eating that mushroom under your bathroom sink? I guess not, but if you're a daredevil who lives on crack, I guess you'll be fine. I kid, I kid. For the love of god don't eat them. Notice the rather stoney roots, the purple-ish stem, and the wrinkled gills? It's a direct threat. 

And because I was craving some mushrooms for dinner and being the rational git that I am, it was just seemingly natural to cook the wild edible mushrooms and have a feast fit for a pixie king.

Vegetable stew with wild mushrooms

It was, of course, heavenly delicious (and safe). If you're into green leafy things anyway. Quite inspired by the mini adventure and the rare finds I just had to doodle some more mushrooms:

Some imaginary, some from I got from the Moomins

More photos from my analog point-and-shoot camera:

Weapon of choice is an Olympus mju and a roll of expired Fuji Superia iso200, cross-processed. Images are NOT to be printed or used without my consent. Like a boss.

At the rooftop parking lot

It was an afternoon of random and spontaneous curiosity that led us to a shopping mall's deserted parking lot. The only natural thing to do was take photos of that grand day of discovery. The parking lot stood there, very still and idle, while the ground below was a busy scene. It was indeed a memorable afternoon.

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"Were you somehow cut in half?"

Weapon of choice is a Holga 120FN and a roll of expired Shanghai Black and White 120mm iso 100. Negatives were scanned using regular flatbed scanner. Images are NOT to be printed or used without my consent. Like a boss.

A tad too early

...but what the heck. A little snowman globe (sort of) that I did for a fellow artist last Christmas (I kid. I made this last February, only then did I send it to her. Jane the procrastinator, hah!). I took my sister's hair serum plastic cover and upcycled it for the "globe" of the snowman. Did it work somewhow? What do you guys think? I still am in the process of collecting more of these plastic globe covers for future projects and probably something saleable for bazaars.

 

Using polymer clay, I sculpted the snowman by hand, at the same time using a thin gauge of copper wire for its arms. The scarf would be made of yarn, a snippet of cotton lace for the base and the snow was something I bought from the craft store. I'm not really sure what it is exactly. It's not the typical squishy polystyrene balls I see on shops, they were rather hard and smooth in texture.

Taken by my friend upon recieving it. Checkout her page, I can't get enough of her superb stuff!

Images are NOT to be printed or used without my consent.