Art Fair Philippines 2025 Exhibition

Booth 22

Ayala Triangle Gardens
February 21-23, 2025

Curing Salt by Arianna Bongato

Curing salt is a tinted pink salt used to preserve meat. For her debut solo exhibition at Art Fair Philippines, Arianna Bongato uses this concept of meat preservation as a metaphor for self-preservation. The process of adding salt to food is synonymous to adopting habits to help her cope better with societal pressures. 

This exhibit is composed of mixed media paintings set in a grotto-like installation and rendered in a rosy palette. Visitors are invited to take time off from the chaos of an art fair, where commerce and creativity intersect, to find solace and contemplation. By entering this small haven, viewers can engage with Bongato’s reflections, mirroring her personal life and how it sits in the uncertain. Bongato’s practice of collage engages with the constantly shifting world, by making her own deconstructed oasis amidst the noise.

”Curating the So-Called Peace of Mind” basks in the solace that comes from being alone, “Practice Makes Perfect (in a good environment)” showcases the struggle to stay afloat and maintain a competent work-life balance, and “Envy Among Common Feathers” acknowledges one’s insecurities and obstacles for growth. The range of themes explored and the stories told are deeply personal ones, yet universal in a way that they could resonate with people across generations.

Majority of the artist’s compositions revolve around her choice of the color pink and its psychological effect of relieving negative emotions. She cites scientific research by Dr. Alexander Schauss on the effects of the shade Baker-Miller Pink on reducing the stress and aggression demonstrated by inmates in a Seattle Prison during the late 70s. The hue proved to be helpful in providing visual relief for those subjected in a confined space, such as a jail cell or a miserable environment, and is used by Bongato to curate an inviting picture. It is noted as well that pink is an archetypal feminine color,  and is used by the artist to highlight her experiences as a young woman attempting to preserve herself in society.

Her use of classical references reflect her academic training and her perceived reclamation of identity as a Filipino. The idealization of what it means to be beautiful as the West sees it is something that is visible throughout Filipino culture as a legacy of colonialism. In her alma mater at the University of the Philippines Diliman, such ideals can be seen up close in the plaster casts of Greco-Roman figures that line the halls. These enigmatic statues, which were reportedly sent by a Japanese institution as part of war reparations, are meant to model Western standards of beauty. Echoes of these conventions appear in the images Bongato appropriates through her works, where old paintings that are founded upon these figurative representations are cast into a different role. An example of this is shown in her work “Make Time for Bedrotting” where she situates a figure by François Boucher in a living room setting to create an intimate portrait of herself after work hours. In this tableau, the inclusion of existing objects such as a Himalayan salt lamp and a Smeg cooler bridge together a personal narrative that highlights a local experience atop her appropriation of foreign figures.

In Curing Salt, Bongato concludes that to preserve one’s self is to consistently prioritize pursuing her own interests and well-being through time. The monotony of work must be broken up by things that bring life. Just as meat products are wrapped in salt and left to cure in a controlled space, curating a comfortable environment and adopting a sympathetic mindset can help manifest a better version of herself.

Edited by Shireen Co

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