“A clear memory I have growing up was a fascination with cutting random shapes from magazines, calendars, and posters.” Gerry Baguio says. He is born to a household of boat builders and craftsmen in a small barangay in Bacolod, Philippines.
As a child he watched his maternal grandfather draw boat plans on large sheets of paper. It moved Gerry to create his own collages which he compiled in an old elementary school notebook. Gerry took to the arts at an early age and pursued a successful musical career for the past three decades.
“I regret not learning our family’s trade.” The shipyard closed after his grandfather’s passing.
“The obsession to build has never left me. The creative process is the same in any medium. You feel a similar sense of fulfillment after placing the final touches to a piece of work.” Gerry says.
His current drawings return to the thought and love for paper- a homage to his past. Layers of acrylic, collage, and ink- fill handmade paper with manic repetitive patterns of hypnotic dots and lines of vibrant hues. He illogically gathers collages of texts, icons, and images lifted from the products of popular culture and mass consumerism to change the way people see their environment and art.
His visual career may have started late in life. “But there’s nothing more to say, I’ve moved away from my musical roots, and speaking of now, this is where I’d like to be.”
— Shirin Bhandari
