MANILA, Philippines – For his pieces at the 2011 Singapore Biennale, artist Louie Cordero built an actual karaoke machine complete with video footage of people belting out that infamous and reportedly accursed tune, My Way.
“Nagpunta-punta ako sa mga beerhouse, karaoke bars, at ni-record ko lang, tapos gumawa ako ng animation na fillers,” explains Cordero. Cordero and Mark Salvatus are the two Filipino participants in the third edition of the biennale.
He then festooned his space at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) with sculptures of karaoke singers in the throes of death (stabbed, shot, impaled), as well as “bad paintings” of ugly starlets, macho dancers and touristy sites as a parody of the tacky pictures posters and pictures in sleazy Manila joints. Kitschy yet oracular, the installation is titled “My We.”
Audiences could actually grab the microphone and sing along to the Frank Sinatra anthem — well, as one journalist quipped, at the risk of death and dismemberment. And instead of the bouncing ball, each lyric is cued by hellfire.
Cordero was drawn to tabloid fodder about the recent spate of murders involving people singing My Way as detailed a couple of months ago in The New York Times. B-movies, Pinoy action films, comics, heavy metal — these are the things that inform Louie’s work.
Anybody die in the course of the filming of Cordero’s “My We” video, we ask.
“No,” laughs Louie. “But there was an actual brawl.”
Mark Salvatus’ “Wrapped” projects have been undertaken in cities such as Barcelona, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, among others. For his piece at the biennale, Salvatus ensconced himself on the second floor landing of the SAM at SQ, and asked people to trace whatever personal objects they’re carrying on the wall so he could draw his wrapping patterns.
“It’s all about chance encounters,” explains Salvatus, who draws inspiration from the street and street art. “Random people tracing random objects — something to do with memory, the temporary…”
Cordero and Salvatus — these guys did it their way.