The annual Mandala Art show of VOCAS Gallery opens on April 29 at 6:00 P.M. with a sacred breath music by Sagada’s famous nose flute player, Dom-an.
Dom-an Macagne Manegdeg, a carrot farmer and NGO worker from the Kasinaya Peace and Healing Initiatives, will explore the depths of the Art of Mandala along with more than 10 visual artists from the city, namely: Khali Neil Acosta, Ged Alangui, Rizalyn Borce, Jandy A. Carvajal, Silvino Dulnuan. A.R. Laigo, Jason del Mundo, Ja Turla, Willy Magtibay, Donato Mejia Alvarez, Mark Tandoyog, Bumbo Villanueva and Carlo Villafuerte.
Mandala, a prevalent motif in the designs of the Eastern world, including the Philippine Cordillera, is a sacred art form that means “circle” in Sanskrit. It represents the cosmos symbolically.
In a treatise, artist-writer Chi Balmaceda Gutierrez wrote, “It is interesting to note that such a motif is unnoticeably prevalent right in the heart of Baguio and the Cordillera mountains—among the radial and solar gardens of Sadanga, for example; in the dap-ay stone structures that serve as meeting places for elders in indigenous communities; in the circular dance steps of the tayao or tadek; or even in a harvest festivity called bendian, where the whole community dances in a circular pattern, with the children in the inner circle, the women in the middle and the men on the outer fringes. Bendian, by the way, means the ‘circle of life’ dance.”
Nose flute player Dom-an said, “Based on my experience in creating Mandalas with various medium and groups…Mandalas allow us a glimpse of the sacred elements and patterns of life, reminding us of balance, relationships, and multi-dimensionality in the circle of life.” She added that there are also Mandala motifs in the organic gardens of Sagada and her 7-year old daughter, Mahayana, loves to go around it.
To meditative artists however, Mandala-making is some kind of a spiritual ritual to apprehend a real communion with one’s inner nature and divinity. After all, creative process is, in itself, not only a form of ultimate mind travel but also Soul Travel.
The Victor Oteyza Community Art Space (VOCAS Gallery) , which is owned by world renowned filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik and his German wife Katrin de Guia, is located at the top floor of L’Azotea building, 108 Session Road, Baguio City.
The exhibition is open to the public. No entrance fee. For art collectors, inquiries may be forwarded to Ms. May-Ann Siblagan, telephone numbers: (074) 446-0108/+639399127266; email: vocas.omg108@gmail.com.
