In his latest exhibition, Puno, Raffy T. Napay takes inspiration from trees, the robust living things that provide fruit, timber, and shade, as well as the poem by Joyce Kilmer, whose loveliness only God can make.
Here, the paintings, coming after his stupendous, multi-panel work, Punla (buto at lupa), which was shown at ALT, continue the plot of growth and flourishing: strips of fabric are collaged together to form thickets, forests, wildernesses.
Overlapping, sometimes woven through with threads and yarns, these strips introduce a new lexicon to Napay’s expanding narrative of textile art, allowing his works to achieve a deeper vibrance and complexity. The vertical lines suggesting trunks are repeated by the post at the center of the gallery, whose four sides are covered by slim panels of his work, making the installation as the actual and metaphoric heart of the exhibition.
This post symbolizes a tree, yes, but it also gestures at the foundation that carries a home: haligi ng tahanan, a role often assumed by a father, but can also mean a strong support in a variety of contexts: family, friendship, community.
Just like this installation, Napay’s paintings are not just about the subjects they depict, but are also contemplative of the human condition: how we grow, how we desire, how we love. The titles point to certain cues, but the viewer is encouraged to reach into their imagination and let the works blossom with symbolism.
Puno offers a glimpse to Napay’s recent development of his ideas: still rooted in fabric, and yet achieves a lyricism—a sense of delight—that reflects abiding enthusiasm with method and material. This exhibition allows us to appreciate our journeys which are mirrored by the bigger world of nature, which grounds us to vital things: sunlight, nourishment, branches reaching out to others with palms wide open.
Carlomar Arcangel Daoana
