REFRACTIONS

by Sergio Bumatay III

A squint… A faint light.
A glimmer of hope.
Almost a discernable degree of brightness.

Note: All artworks for this show are uniformly 36”x24” in size and are acrylic, phosphorescent paint (strontium aluminate, europium, dysprosium), reflective powder, iridescent paint, interference paint on canvas pieces. Placing them under ultraviolet (UV) light will reveal a second, complementary work.

A Discernible Degree of Brightness (under UV light)

“There was voidness in my artistic life. That’s what it felt like when I relocated to another place. The exciting feeling of something new was there, but there’s a trade-off. I’m not so sure about the future of my art career. I don’t know anyone except my family. I’m in a new territory. ”

“The anxiety continues as these art works were created during the early stages of the pandemic when people in my new place haven’t yet realized the gravity of the threat. It was also a moment when I was on the edge of losing hope of finding a suitable job for a living.“

“These paintings and the process were my refuge, a product of my state of consciousness during those times.”

The creative process and all its facets – from preparing the canvas, painting, photography, to editing the Gifs – were part of coping in my new world.

About Sergio Bumatay III

I wanted to be a children’s book illustrator because it’s a place where I can be what I could be.

Painting and making art is a personal extension of that vision of the world. I felt that leaving was the most logical next step in my life and career, to discover what it is like in other places and spaces. I migrated to another country to fulfill my unquenchable curiosity for different worlds and experiences.

This curiosity for other dimensions are often visualized in my works: imaginary world of immortals, utopias, and magical sanctuaries.