New York-based artist Renato Orara's work to be showcased in the Philippines

Fifteen Philippine libraries will be participating in a permanent public installation of artworks by New York-based artist Renato Orara starting this year. The installation, consisting of drawings hidden in library books, will be heralded by Library Bookworks, his one-month solo show at Silverlens Lab (SLab).

For his first gallery exhibition in the Philippines, Orara renders human ears in library books and produces corresponding photographic prints with the books' call number labels affixed to them.

The library books are shelved in libraries, while the photo prints are displayed in the gallery. These prints also serve as maps that disclose the locations of the drawings.

To begin the search for the original artworks, one may come to the gallery to view the photo prints, jot down the works' call numbers, and obtain a list of participating libraries. Thus the gallery becomes a library while the libraries become the galleries.

For over a decade, Renato Orara's drawings have garnered international critical acclaim. Orara's ballpoint ink drawings on paper, meticulously rendered and densely layered, are fine in their simplicity and execution.

Though the subject matter is uncomplicated – a vegetable, an ear, a slab of meat – his interest in them and their final outcome has its own transcendent reality. The Bookworks have been featured in exhibitions in many cities including New York City, Paris, Brussels, and Miami, and are in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Library Bookworks by Renato Orara runs from Jan. 8 to Feb. 14 at SLab. There will be an opening reception on Jan. 8.  Orara will also have an online artist talk on Jan. 17 at 12nn.

Library Bookworks will be shown along with Family Spaces by Stella Kalaw at Silverlens Gallery. Visit SLab at 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City. For more information, call 816-0044/ 0905-2650873, email manage@silverlensphoto.com or visit www.silverlensphoto.com/slab.silverlensphoto.com.