Artist Carlo Tanseco presents yet another series of paintings that promises to take us on a stunning visual journey into our reservoirs of nostalgia in his seventh solo exhibit at the J Studio Gallery. The show is doubly significant as it is also the gallery’s 10th-anniversary offering.

Revisiting worlds of the past

Aptly called “Waka Waka,” the series features acrylic on canvas artworks depicting the artist’s take on the beloved legendary world of video game Pac-Man. In what has become his signature painting style, Carlo meticulously detailed the all-too familiar maze and super-imposed hyper realistic images that are closely linked to the game’s different spell-binding levels and origins.

Tanseco’s art has been said to have the ability to transport one to another world. In “Waka Waka,” each painting becomes a portal to the past—the image of the classic yellow insatiable circle gleefully chomping its way through a maze filled with vibrant ghostly adversaries and dreamy vivid rewards, inviting art enthusiasts to relive the thrill of their gaming youth, bringing in the rush of countless hours spent chasing high scores, and resurrecting the thrill of the classic arcade (or home console!) game.

The artist admits he embarks on a nostalgic trek with every series of artworks he creates, relishing his creative flow while re-experiencing the joy of losing track of time revisiting the different worlds of his formative years. It was no different for this series. “I grew up playing and loving this game, its characters, its challenges, elements, and even the back story of this arcade favorite,” says Carlo. 

Just like the national history, pop culture greats, magical realism novels, and robots of his previous works, the enduring worldwide and multi-generational appeal of this computer game must also have taken part in the development of many a mind explorer among today’s art enthusiasts.

The signature style

Creating intricate and elaborate designs with a paintbrush to serve as backdrop is no easy task, especially in today’s copy-paste digital age, but it’s a phase in Carlo’s painting process that he enjoys. “It has a Zen effect on me,” reveals the artist who has been known as a perfectionist. 

Like his past works, the repetitive pattern in each canvas in this set is as much of an eye-drawer as the finely detailed images superimposed. 

“The main element of the game is the maze. I have always been drawn to the form of the maze and labyrinth, often drawing them as a kid. I think it’s because of the thrill and sense of adventure they represent, for their structure, and in this case, their graphic nature. I like the idea of the quest that comes with the stories of mazes in historical myths. I also liked that it symbolized that the choices you make, as simple as ‘do I turn left or right,’ can spell your success or failure,” says Carlo. “Another element of the game that is iconic to me are the fruits that the player, as Pac-Man, must eat for extra points. For me, they were irresistible. I have chosen the fruits as one of the main elements to highlight in these works. So, most of my paintings show a re-interpretation of the game’s maze and various fruits as goals.” 

The hyper-realistic images on some pieces depict parallelism, which Carlo had made between the game’s various elements—and with life—while others pay homage to the history of the game’s creation. They represent where the artist’s mind freely associates the game’s memorable aspects with familiar real-life figures. IYKYK, as they say—lovers of the game would get it at the very least, but even more interestingly, these even spark a debate.

A dose of dopamine

Just like the sold-out paintings and installations in his past shows, the artworks in “Waka Waka” are a transcendental experience that taps into the very essence of nostalgia. 

Scientific research has revealed that seeing an image, especially one that evokes positive emotions, triggers a rush of the happy hormone dopamine. The trend of filling personal spaces with pieces that resonate with one emotionally, reflect one’s personality, spark happy recollection, or, as trend forecasters have described, “reclaim the jolt of jubilation once felt in possessing so much unabashed freedom,” is currently called to be more than a passing phase. 

As dopamine fashion and decor have found a captivating niche in the world of art, Carlo’s paintings have become windows to the past that flood the viewer with feelings of happiness and yearning for that stage when joy meant hours of chasing rewards, skillfully capturing the essence of a cherished life phase, where Pac-Man was king of the arcades and chasing ghosts and gobbling pellets was the ultimate source of enjoyment.

His own jolt of jubilation

“In creating and completing the 17 Waka Waka paintings and nine sculptural objets d’art, I relived the many years of my life I frequented the video arcades in Greenhills and Makati, particularly playing Pac-Man, and even more particularly the moments when the fruit which corresponded to bonuses appeared. These moments were fleeting, and I had a second to gobble each bonus up before it disappeared, sometimes at the risk of losing a life,” muses Carlo. “I guess this attraction to acquiring this fruit before it disappears reveals a side of me that seizes the moments or the opportunities life offers despite some possible risks. This collection brought me back to happy times when, at the cost of a peso coin, you are transported into an 8-bit universe (not yet metaverse) where you lose yourself in the thrill of an adventure before you go home and do your homework.”

Grownups at the heyday of the famous game would shake their heads and wonder if their kids’ brains were getting gobbled up while absorbed in the intricacies of levelling up. That is, until perhaps they themselves got hooked, because those moments had to mean more than blinking lights and managing tricky maneuvering of joysticks. “That’s what Pac-Man meant to me then and now, in retrospect,” says Carlo. “What did it mean for you?”

Waka Waka will premiere on Oct. 15 (and will be open for public viewing starting Oct. 17) at J Studio Gallery at Pasillo 18, La Fuerza Gate 1 Compound, 2241 Chino Roces, Makati. The exhibit will run until Nov. 4. More details at @carlotanseco_art on Instagram +639174229291.