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October 27, 2011
Return to innocence
Laureen "Mimi" Tecson, visual artist
Text by Denise Roco
When viewing the art of Laureen "Mimi" Tecson, one will observe that this reverberates throughout her quirky storytelling assemblages. |
It all began with a yearning to retrieve what was lost and to consequently reveal what is found. When viewing the art of Laureen "Mimi" Tecson, one will observe that this reverberates throughout her quirky storytelling assemblages. Given five pesos daily from her mom when she was a child, Mimi would immediately buy little plastic toys from the market, so much so that the toys accumulated into two huge sacks.
Mimi and her tiny toys were inseparable. She'd visit her neighbor, bringing a sack with her. Eventually irked by all the clutter, Mimi's mother unwittingly took all her toys away. This pained her, but life went on and Mimi had not choice but to grow up.
She dabbled in visual arts while studying advertising at the College of Holy Spirit; back then, she favored vibrant hues of acrylic paint on canvas. Even then, she knew that satisfaction from a nine-to-five job wasn't enough for her. Mimi needed creative release. Her first exhibit in 2006 was a group exhibit dubbed the Boxed Exhibit in Big Sky Mind followed by three group exhibits in 2007 at CCP, F+Art Gallery and Art Space respectively. Exploring the use of toys and other found objects, Mimi's trademark signature of glass-encased toys arranged in boxes became more pronounced in 2008 at her group exhibit, Tutok KKK held at Blanc Gallery.
"Doors of Perception" (left) and "Finding Home" (right) |
There are no shortcuts in Mimi's creative process. The wooden surfaces are first painted, nailed or screwed after which she gathers the toys to see how each interacts when juxtaposed. This determines which toys go with which and in what section of the assemblage. The toys are then hand-painted one by one, some blending into the background while others jutting out in loud colors as accents.
In a way, the selections of toys are deliberate yet random. Sometimes a piece isn't finished without a specific toy—a unicorn, a metal spring, a baby shoe, a wasp. These myriad wooden boxes of toys, trinkets and things are mini-universes choreographed in a frozen dance.
In 2009, this Shangri-La Plaza marketing communications officer by day and full-fledged artist by night developed her distinct style and went on to show her works in seven exhibits within the same year. "Every time I work on a new piece I look at my old ones to see my progress," explained Mimi. Her works with a Frida Kahlo influence resemble Joseph Cornell's pieces and she finds inspiration from iconic pop artists Andy Warhol and Basquiat.
"Leave the Lights On" |
In "Sino ba talaga ang Bahala," she elaborates the seed experience of the piece. "When I went to Quiapo, the people there prayed while kneeling all the way to the altar. It's as though their needs are way too heavier so you get ashamed to pray because the church is overflowing with their prayers. Afterwards, I decided to leave and said, "Bahala na si Batman!" In this piece, Mother Mary is inside drowned by the prayers represented by a multitude of colored jackstones spilling out the church while Batman stands tall on the steeple.
The black, white and red "Finding Home" is to her her most significant piece as it makes tangible her love for family. Included in "States of Matter," at GJ Asian Art, Singapore, inspiration is taken from the routine of commute in one of her works this year called "Dalawang Sakay." With just two colors, a light gray and cerulean blue, Mimi maps out through a bird's-eye view the grid spaces she traverses when visiting her boyfriend and fellow artist, Wesley Valenzuela.
Oftentimes the springboard of ideas for new works arrives during the time in which she travels to and from the office. Her mind wanders off to different destinations in sync with her travelling body. It was during one of her commutes that she spotted a ruined torso of a female mannequin tied to a tricycle that she just had to have. She acquired it from the driver and transformed it into a piece entitled "Sulsi."
"Sino Ba Talaga Bahala" (left) and "Two Right Hands" (right) |
Mimi also keeps busy with commissioned work. Instead of having a photograph framed or having a painting done, clients give her their keepsakes, which she thematically integrates into a time capsule piece, a mild form of collaborative art. She is given the privilege to share in the sentimentality of her clients' memories and cherish them almost as her own. Last August, Mimi designed a table for Loudbox Studio. Toy robots, small plastic action figures, cassette tapes with names of songs, a violin, a rocket ship and a bear with earphones are splashed in a color scheme of grey, red and black. These painted objects with the sprinkle of magic that Mimi conjures, make the inanimate so animated.
In another recent work, "Leave the Lights On," 25 lightbulbs are evenly spaced in a five-by-five grid, each with a toy inside. "Memories are also like lightbulbs when you remember something, it's a lightbulb moment but in the past," this 29-year-old said. Years later, she found out that her mother gave her toys to her cousins in the province. "At least they got to play with it," she consoles herself yet retaining a wistful look.
"That's why I'm trying to collect toys and things that remind me of what I lost." Mimi Tecson has aptly preserved that bittersweet feeling of wanting so badly to touch, to play with what's right before the eyes, but not being able to do so with the barrier of glass. Glass turns into a metaphor for distance, space and time. It is within that very gap forced between the viewer and the playful "dioramas" that command a resolution. The viewer figures out the figures, tries to understand what is happening inside and how he or she relates to it. The toys are trapped as boxed memories that may have happened and appreciating her works can only mean that one is never too old to play with toys.
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