Photo by Pinggot Zulueta

MANILA, Philippines -- In art, one takes a step backward and at the same time, a step forward. The artist draws on his experiences and memories to fill up his canvases with images, but his technique, style and way of presenting must push limits so that he creates something new and different. Looking at Rosscapili’s work, one gets a sense of all this – the backwards pulling of his memories, captured in black and white photographs and reprinted on canvas, and the crossing of boundaries with how he presents his images; an amalgamation of paint, found objects, and of course, his pictures.

Push and Pull

The push and pull of the past and the future aren’t immediately obvious when one looks at a Rosscapili. In his current collection, 'Coexistence,' what one sees is a collage of black and white pictures and a smattering of black, white and grey paint, with a dash of color in some parts to break the monotony. But looking deeper into the images, one sees something more. “It’s a journal, there’s still a story there. It tells a story. It’s not [an] empty [gesture] that you put on canvas. I want the paint to smear, to layer, to interact with my photographs,” says Rosscapili.

Cross Road

'Cross Road,' a piece from the collection, is a collage that features the Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover and a picture of men doing penance on Holy Week while standing at a cross walk. “I found this piano [board] and mixed it with the Beatles, merging, and connecting the pedestrian. And in 1966 the Beatles said they were more popular than Jesus Christ, adding to their problem. There was a crossroad. There was also crucifixion,” Rosscapili says, explaining his work.

Another piece called 'Dambana ni San Miguel' has a censored image of a statue of Mother Mary placed side by side with ladies dancing onstage. An almost indistinguishable bottle of the iconic Filipino beer is thrown into the mix, creating a statement about religion, macho culture and feminism.

Stories Behind the Lens 

The pictures themselves, taken on their own, already tell a story; but even more interesting are Rosscapili’s stories of what happened behind the lens. All the photographs he used in the collection are his own images, and with it, he created a record of his experiences while he was taking them. Rosscapili tells of how he took the picture of the dancing ladies in 'Dambana ni San Miguel,' going to a night club with his wife and furtively clicking on his camera hidden underneath the table.

Experience in Abstraction

And then there are the paint strokes and gestures that bring the work together. Rosscapili brings his experience in abstraction to the pieces in “Coexistence,” having created abstract pieces for more than 10 years. “I wanted layers of images, layers of technique. I didn’t want my work to be flat; if you look at it from different angles, you’ll see something different,” says Rosscapili.

Most of his works have opposing and supporting ideas that come together on one canvas. And much how like these ideas coexist with one another, his pictures and abstractions tell a story deeper and more meaningful than what meets the eye.

Art Forms Brought Together

It is only fitting that Rosscapili calls the collection 'Coexistence,' because apart from the juxtaposed images on his canvases, the collection brings together two of Rosscapili’s chosen art forms – photography and painting.

These two run parallel in his life, ever-present and effective outlets of Rosscapili’s creativity. At some points in his life as an artist, one was used to support the other, feeding and nurturing not just his creative side, but the other parts of his life as well.

Working Student

A working student, Rosscapili would do Philippine Airline’s graphic design, illustration and photography requirements during the day and attend his night classes in Fine Arts at the Philippine Women’s University. He would leave the PAL office at 5 p.m., rushing to get to Sta. Cruz, Manila, where he had pictures for work developed before he went to class, and then submitting them the following day.

Painting was something he had always done, joining art contests and winning quite a number of them. His first win allowed him to buy a camera that he used for work. With painting, he first began with representational images, eventually evolving into abstraction and expressionism. “I lasted with abstraction. But I got tired of it, that it came to a point where it felt like I was just forced to create. There was also frustration on my part that my work was similar to the other artists. That everyone was [doing] abstraction,” says Rosscapili.

Digital Pioneer

It was perfect timing that digital media was becoming popular in the Philippines. Rosscapili was one of the pioneers who adapted to the technology, learning Photoshop when it was nothing more than a simple photo editing program. He started to push the limits on his abstraction work, searching for something different and original, leading him to the merging of his photography and painting.

Mixed Media

The current technology allows him to print his photographs onto artist’s canvas, on which he then layers on acrylic paint. Rosscapili explains, “I don’t present it as a photograph, I present it as mixed media. Before, my style was more abstract. It was all swiping, broad strokes, swirling colors. Now I’m applying it, on canvas still, but with images, my photographs. So everything is merging.”

There is still more to experiment with in Rosscapili’s brand of mixed media, and he is unwilling to move on to the next style until he has mastered it. The challenge he faces right now is gaining acceptance from the art community. And so far, it has been forthcoming, with exhibits and shows overseas, the most recent of which was the 26th Asian International Art Exhibition in Seoul, South Korea, which he also chairs. Rosscapili has another show at the Singapore Art Fair, opening on the 18th of November.

Art is Old and New

Art captures the old and new, becoming both dated and timeless. Rosscapili has gotten a grip on this elusive concept, in terms of both technique and content. There is the old in his pieces – memories and almost-forgotten images captured by Rosscapili’s previous experience on the different mediums – but the future is also in there, reinvigorating photography and painting to create a different art form.

But for Rosscapili, the bottom line has always been passion. “That is what is left at the end of the day. Fads may come and go, but the ones with passion, it won’t matter what medium he uses. Even if it’s not new, or it’s not the trend, he will always create art.”