Nothing in the world is a coincidence:We three kings

MANILA, Philippines - There is a reason for everything. Nothing is left to chance. Take, for example, the planetary alignment of three dots that connected the visual interpreters of our time. At a not-so-random moment at a studio in Pasong Tamo Extension, photographers Mark Nicdao, Doc Marlon Pecjo and Juan Caguicla were all on a smoking break from shooting their respective subjects, all representatives of the pop culture landscape of our time. Kris Aquino, John Lloyd Cruz and Anne Curtis were all in and out of the studios, shooting the iconic billboards that graze the city’s billboardscape. Supreme spotted that light bulb opportunity and shot these musketeers in a unifying portrait — a rare moment where three masters got together, like the Herb Ritts supermodel group photo or “The Great Tenors” huddled together. No amount of angst or trying to go against the flow can come up with something like this — it was magic, plain and simple. It was meant to be.

Other people can try to conjure and come up with words to paint the picture, while others will bend over backwards just to be able to say that they made the effort to bring the three masters together, but this was something that wasn’t planned. This was something that maybe the heavens had wanted to happen — for the visual snipers of this generation to come together — even they were amazed that they were all together at this particular moment in time. Supreme captured this moment and preserved it as a generational snapshot of our time. Each master with something different to say, each maestro with a new point to make.

Juan Caguicla’s world

 Mark Nicdao, Rogue’s chief photographer, is famous for his gritty takes on celluloid life as well as his tributes to the masters while Uno creative director Juan Caguicla is known for his honest-to-goodness portraits of his subject’s base instincts. Doc Marlon Pecjo, a staple in fashion magazines like Mega and Metro, is familiar to the public for his glossy take on surreality and style. All together, the three interpret what we all know as now — something not everyone can understand but all can appreciate, a subtle language that tries to analyze what we see, feel and hear at our current states.

Supreme thought of asking the trio to show us what their “now” is all about — what the word “supreme” means to them. Whether it means ageless beauty or the intricacy of a hand — the beauty lies in the myriad of ways a word can be interpreted. There is no one way something can be expressed. The great mystery lies in one’s perspective — the freedom we all have within our senses to see, hear and feel one thing different from the rest.

 Supreme image masters

Doc Marlon Pecjo’s now

 In this speedy world where everyone wants to prove something to each other, Supreme leaves it up to you, dear reader, to see what your eyes can see, beyond the printed page. We serve as curator, you be the one to take it all in — accept, spit or swallow —your call.

 Let Mark Nicdao, Juan Caguicla and Doc Marlon Pecjo take you to different dimensions of their vision. With Supreme as their canvas and their lenses as your guide, let us take a journey into the visual realm of these image masters.

 Supreme takes this chance for you to experience what the expressionists of our time have to say. They have a lot to share, if only we are open to the messages that they have to flash. Not always literal, we have to read between the lines and see behind the captured image. The excitement lies in seeing the invisible message that lies beneath. Can you see it? 

In this world, who says what “in your face” is what it’s all about? Supreme is really about the search for the messages that lie underneath —but when you find it, you’ll realize that there is, indeed, a reason for everything.

 So enjoy the search while we’re at it. The journey is always worth it.

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Not trying to be too deep, but follow me at twitter.com/iamtimyap.