It is April 2020 and the world is gripped by fear and uncertainty. Covid-19 was just declared by the World Health Organization as a pandemic a month ago, and vaccine research and development are still ways away.
“We are in the middle and the end is not in sight,” American writer Rebecca Solnit wrote at that time for a piece on Literary Hub (www.lithub.com). “We are waiting, which is among most people’s least favorite thing to do, when it means noticing that you have taken up residence in not knowing.
We are in terra incognita, which is where we always are anyway, but usually we have a milder case of it and can make our pronouncements and stumble along.”
Existentialist ideas, thoughts about existentialism continue to fill minds more than a year into the global health crisis. History tells us that people retreat to the concept of existentialism at periods of helplessness, as was the case during the Second World War, when the philosophical inquiry gained momentum as a significant movement mainly through the public prominence of two French writers: Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus.
While Sartre leaned toward existential nihilism, which posits that life has no intrinsic meaning or value, another existentialist by the name of Simone de Beauvoir believed that existentialism could be “a practical and living attitude to the problems posed to the world today.” If we want to respond ethically to the problems we encounter, Beauvoir writes, we need to “look truth in the face.”
The idea of accepting rather than finding one’s place in the universe is also what visual artist Salvador Bañares Jr. explores in his new one-man show at Village Art Gallery.
The Valenzuela-born artist began his career working on murals before shifting to the canvas.
In 2016, he held his first solo exhibition alongside his brother Marco’s. Since then, Salvador has continued to refine his signature style of multi-layered paintings in terms of symbols and narratives.
In his new show, titled Existence, Bañares invites the viewers to ponder on the idea of being.
“Ang konsepto ko sa show na ito ay tumutukoy sa mga bagay na nilikha tulad ng tao at kalikasan na hindi natin alam kung saan at paano nagsimula,” he said.
The artist showcases works that depict subjects in moments of deep introspection of their places in the universe.
Some are lost in the search for meaning, as shown in Chaos 2—where the thinker and her thoughts fade away in splatter and smoke in great detail and drama—while others have found more success. In Limitless, serenity dawns on the subject, while in We Are Nature, a verdant nirvana is reached.
“Walang permanente,” Bañares said. “Lahat ng bagay na nilikha ay nawawala, nasisira, nauubos at mananatili na lang ala-ala paglipas ng panahon.”
Existence by Salvador Bañares Jr. opened on May 22 and is on view until June 3 at Village Art Gallery in Alabang Town Center in Muntinlupa City.
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