PASSAGEMAKERS: An artist and a salvaged sailboat's twin sojourn
March 7 - 30, 2009 

What history lay hidden behind an old sailboat? What shores had it docked on? What dramas had taken place aboard its deck? What tempests of nature had it endured? These must have been playing inside the mind of painter Ramon Diaz when he saved a sunken 29-foot, three-ton sloop full keel when the Manila Yacht Club brought it out of the water three years ago. "There was already too much damaged to be restored, but too memorable to be discarded," he noted. Crafted in a manner reminiscent of the European way of building boats in the 30s and 40s, the Imelda 1 (the name traced by its former owner Eddie Go of the Makati Stock Exchange in the 50s and who traced it back to its earliest owner Miguel Magsaysay of the Magsaysay Lines fame) was said to have sailed from Europe to Guam then to Manila.

Thus, in a creative decision borne not simply out of nostalgia, but a keen appreciation of history intersecting with his well-known, ongoing romance with the sea, Diaz began work on his first collection of sculptures from parts of that salvaged vessel. Passagemakers is the much-awaited sequel to his September 2007 RIBS painting exhibition where he highlighted a single piece constructed from the ship's wooden ribs and deck plank.

Passagemakers reflects Diaz's passion for sailing as well as his continuing journey as an artist. It references the metamorphosis of a seemingly mundane material, such as this sailboat, into a series of well-thought œuvres that reveals the artist's vision and figuratively conveys his personae. Diaz steps back in time appreciating the salvageable past and moves forward expressing social concern for the environment by using recyclable materials and making a statement against the present cultural predisposition towards disposability of old and seemingly useless things that, in the right hands, can still be imbued with beauty and significance. Diaz believes in reusing these disposables, these objets trouvé (found objects) the way he once did in Banak House -- his beach house in Calatagan, Batangas -- with the about-to-be-burned ruins of Aringay Church in La Union. To borrow from Surrealist leader André Breton, in raising the dignity of an object with a utilitarian function to a work of art, Diaz's genius eased the passage of a wrecked ship to a provocative mixed media series through his inspired choice of elements.

Rather than presenting us with glossy-finished and high-stylized pieces, he has retained the natural look of the boat with the weather-beaten look of the planks blending well with the painted-on and assembled elements that is suffused with symbolism. The interplay of allusions drawn from Diaz's knowledge of Philippine history and sailing lore surfaces in pieces such as Calculated Risk, where an abacus was incorporated in a part of the boat, evoking ancient Chinese sailors who ply junk boats along the shores of Manila Bay. Antigua with its inked scenes of Spanish conquistadores, sabers, pistols and other battle symbols in between a dangling sarimanok brass figure from the Muslim South and a crucified Christ's head painted on a conch shell depicts the long-standing conflict between the two cultures. Guiding Eyes highlights a pair of dark eyes painted on both sides of the bow or the front part of the boat, seemingly watchful and wise.

Aside from his successful RIBS and Celestial Horses exhibit in the country, his Nishikigoi (koi or carp) series was featured during a highly successful solo show at the Steuben Glass in New York in 2007. Diaz pursued advanced studies in Europe and continues to reinvent new materials and approaches, stretching himself beyond the realm of paper and palette. This is his 24th exhibit since he started painting in the early '90s. There was serendipity in finding that salvaged sailboat as it led to a new vista and perhaps an altogether new direction for his creativity. To extend the metaphor further, with this new collection, Diaz proves anew that indeed he has earned his right to passage into the art world's appreciative embrace.

Passagemakers will have its opening on March 7 at Galleria Duemila located at 210 Loring Street, Pasay City. The show runs until March 30. For more information, please contact 813-9990 and telefax 833-9815, e-mail: duemila@mydestiny.net or visit www.galleriaduemila.com.