Art beat: Of Silk Road caves and discarded materials finding new life
MANILA, Philippines – Good news for art enthusiasts. Whether you're in the country or visiting a neighboring one, you might want to check out these ongoing exhibits.
'Repousse' on view
The artist reception of the "Material Explorations Exhibit" was officially held at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Gallery last September 7. The solo exhibit features two-time featured artist Jandy A. Carvajal, a visual artist and educator.
The exhibit features a body of work that challenges conventional ideas of artistic materials through resourcefulness, sustainability, and creative transformation.
At the heart of Carvajal’s practice is his long-standing engagement with repoussé, a metalworking technique in which a malleable sheet of metal is shaped by pressing and hammering from the reverse side to create a relief on the front. His relationship with the technique began as early as grade school in 1991 and has since developed into a continuing investigation of materiality, value, and transformation.
Carvajal first explored repoussé extensively in his 2014 solo exhibition "Plata Flora" at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, where he worked with salvaged aluminum to create floral forms. In 2022, his NCCA exhibition "Ang Ating Mga Kayamanan sa Bakuran / Our Treasures in the Yard" further expanded this inquiry, transforming vegetables through brass and gold-plated surfaces into objects that evoke ideas of preciousness and invaluableness.
With "Material Explorations," Carvajal moves beyond repoussé and metalwork toward a broader examination of what materials can become when removed from their conventional contexts.
The exhibition brings together five subsets of works made from salvaged aluminum, biscuit tin can covers, flattened wooden matchboxes, egg cartons, and soil, complemented by acrylic and ink. By turning these humble and often discarded materials into works of art, Carvajal foregrounds resourcefulness, recycling, and sustainability — principles that have become integral to his practice as a teaching visual artist.
Rather than relying on the conventional prestige or perceived value of a medium, Carvajal invites audiences to consider the possibilities inherent in materials that are humble, discarded, or readily available.
A recurring subject throughout the exhibition is Mater Dei, or the Mother of God, whom Carvajal honors through repeated iterations of devotional imagery. The works are presented in September, the month traditionally attributed to the birth of the Virgin Mary, and draw from the artist’s Catholic upbringing and familiarity with religious imagery.
Carvajal transposes familiar devotional images into unexpected material configurations, referencing estampitas, traditional icon paintings, and other sacramentals. Through these transformations, devotion becomes more than a subject—it becomes a method through which the artist examines materiality itself.
In "Material Explorations," the ordinary is given renewed attention. Aluminum, tin, cardboard, wood, and soil are no longer simply functional, discarded, or commonplace materials; they become sites of experimentation, memory, devotion, and meaning.
Material Explorations runs until the September 31 at the NCCA Gallery from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free to the public.
Concluding show
"At 25: Artists’ Early Worlds, Part II" is ongoing and will be on view at Asia Art Archive (AAA) in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, until October 31, 2026.This serves as the concluding chapter of AAA’s 25th anniversary celebration, and it features artists Salima Hashmi (b. 1942), Holly Lee (1953–2024), Bahc Yiso (1957–2004), and Raqs Media Collective (formed in 1992).
Their pieces are built on the guiding question, “What were you doing at 25?," and thus explore their early life trajectories and art practices through rare archival materials gathered from the artists, their families, and various institutions, alongside their early works.
Event pieces also reveal how these artistic practices often reach beyond artmaking into areas such as education, writing, and advocacy. Together, the materials build a multi-layered vision of art history, one that weaves broader sociocultural contexts with personal recollections and stories of the departed told by loved ones.
Hashmi (b. 1942) is a Pakistani artist, photographer, performer, educator, curator, and writer. She has played a significant role in Pakistan’s art ecology since the 1960s. In 2003, she was founding Dean at the Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts & Design at Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, where she is now Professor Emeritus. For 30 years, Hashmi was Professor of Fine Arts at the National College of Arts, Lahore, serving as Principal of the College for four years.
Aside from being an art educator, Hashmi has also written extensively on contemporary art in Pakistan. She is a council member on the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Chairperson of Faiz Foundation Trust. Her work often engages with questions of politics, memory, identity, and social justice, and her contribution as an educator has influenced generations of artists.
During her lifetime, Holly Lee (1953–2024) was a Hong Kong photographer with a background in literature and visual arts. It was in 1978 when she started a career in photography, a medium she remained committed to for nearly five decades. In the late 1990s, she relocated to Canada with her family. There, she continued to focus on photo-based works, publishing, and exhibition projects.
In her later years, she returned to literary writing as her primary practice, publishing a work of fiction alongside several volumes of poetry. Lee was a grantee of the Asian Culture Council and a recipient of professional awards during her time in Hong Kong. Her works are held in the collections of M+ and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, among other institutions. Her work and estate are currently managed by the Lee Ka-sing and Holly Lee Archive, a permanent archive based in Toronto.
The third featured artist, Bahc Yiso (1957–2004) was also a curator, critic, and educator who carved out a distinctive position in the Korean contemporary art scene through his conceptual practice and role as a cultural translator. He earned a BFA degree from Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea, under his given name Cheol-ho Park, before moving to the United States to complete an MFA at the Pratt Institute in New York.
From 1984, he worked under the pseudonym “Bahc Mo,” with “Mo” translating into “anonymous.” During his years in New York, he founded the alternative space Minor Injury (1985–1989) in Brooklyn as a platform for marginalized immigrants and minorities. He also played a key role in introducing Korean art to American audiences through pivotal exhibitions. After returning to Korea in 1995, he taught at SADI (Samsung Art & Design Institute) and later at K’Arts (Korea National University of Arts) in conjunction with his artistic practice. In 1998, he officially adopted the name “Bahc Yiso” and led postmodern discourse in the Korean art scene of the 1990s.
As for Raqs Media Collective, it was formed in 1992 by Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula, and Shuddhabrata Sengupta. The word “raqs,” in several languages, denotes an intensification of awareness and presence attained by whirling, turning, and being in a state of revolution.
From 2001 to 2011, Raqs ran the Sarai program at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in New Delhi, India, where the group also edited the Sarai Reader series. Raqs works have been exhibited globally, including at documenta 11; the Venice, Istanbul, Sydney, and Sao Paulo Biennales; the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi; MUAC, Mexico City; the Whitworth Gallery, Manchester; K-21, Dusseldorf; and the Mathaf: Museum of Arab Modern Art, Doha. The collective has curated numerous exhibitions, including Hungry for Time (Paintings Gallery, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, 2022); Afterglow (Yokohama Triennale, 2020); and Why Not Ask Again? (Shanghai Biennale, 2016), among others. The members of Raqs Media Collective live and work in Delhi, India, and London, United Kingdom.
Because of the global accomplishments of Hashmi, Lee, Yiso, and Raqs, AAA’s At 25: Artists’ Early Worlds, Part II decided to put their works on prominent display.
Complementing the display are two new commissions shaped by the dialogue between historical reflection and artistic inquiry, including Raqs Media Collective’s Black Waters: An Event Shaped Hole. Asia Art Archive, 2026, are also on display.
While the exhibition runs until October 31, 2026, the remaining curator-led tours are scheduled on September 23, 2026, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Cantonese) and from 6:30.p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (English); and on October 21, 2026, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (English) from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Cantonese).
Inside the caves
The Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), in collaboration with the Dunhuang Academy, presents "Sacred Caves: Dunhuang, Buddhism, and the Silk Road." Bringing together original paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, textiles, and devotional objects with four life-size reproductions of the Mogao Caves – presented in Southeast Asia for the first time – the exhibition explores more than a thousand years of art, faith, and cultural exchange at Dunhuang. "Sacred Caves" runs from September 25, 2026 to March 7, 2027.
Located in northwestern China, Dunhuang was one of the great crossroads of the ancient world, connecting China with Central Asia, India, the Middle East, and Europe via the Silk Road. Buddhism flourished in the region and gave rise to the Mogao Caves, a vast complex of cave temples created between the 4th and 14th centuries.
Clement Onn, Director of ACM and the Peranakan Museum, said, “We are honoured to partner with the Dunhuang Academy to bring the extraordinary art and stories of Dunhuang to Singapore. Dunhuang reminds us that cultures have never developed in isolation — people, ideas, beliefs and artistic traditions have always travelled, met and shaped one another. More than a thousand years later, the caves still speak to things we can all relate to: devotion, compassion and connection. We hope visitors will see Dunhuang not simply as something from a distant past, but as a story that still has a meaning for us today.”
Zhang Yuanlin, Deputy Director of the Dunhuang Academy, added, “The Mogao Caves are not only a treasured part of China’s cultural heritage, but also a testament to the exchanges between different peoples, cultures, and faiths along the Silk Road. As the custodian of the Mogao Caves, the Dunhuang Academy is committed to conserving and studying the site, and to sharing its art and history with audiences around the world. We are delighted to work with the Asian Civilisations Museum to bring the story of Dunhuang to Singapore for the first time.”
The exhibition unfolds across ACM’s Level 2 Foyer and Special Exhibitions Gallery, which bring together four life-size cave reproductions alongside paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, and objects from Dunhuang. The Foyer introduces the Mogao Caves and how they were constructed and painted, while the Special Exhibitions Gallery explores the city of Dunhuang, its devotional life, and the people who created and sustained the caves.
Three further cave reproductions are presented in the Special Exhibition Gallery. Cave 249 combines figures from Buddhist and Chinese mythology in a stunning vision of the cosmos; Cave 45 centers on one of the finest Tang dynasty sculptural groups at Mogao; and Cave 3 is distinguished by the fluid brushwork of its paintings.
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