PAIR 4
AJ Raymundo & Chesca Santiago
Artist
AJ Raymundo (b. 2002) is an interdisciplinary conceptual mixed media artist who explores themes of ecology, city, and memory. With an emphasis on process and materiality, his work takes the form of images, film projections, and installation of found objects. With a practice grounded in social realities and ethnography, he enunciates the negotiation of identities amidst the age of the universalist ethos of capitalism and globalization.
Raised in a Marcos public housing complex in the City of Taguig, AJ is currently based in Quezon City. He is currently an Interdisciplinary Studies major at the Ateneo de Manila University, studying English Literature, Cultural Heritage, and Creative Writing. Aside from his art practice, he is a published researcher, writer, and designer with a particular interest in food, performance, and literature in Southeast Asia. His essays have appeared in mainstream publications such as Young STAR, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rappler, HEIGHTS Online, and elsewhere. He was named a Junior Fellow by the Ricardo Leong Institute of Global and Area Studies, embarking on a field school in Surabaya, Indonesia. He was an Artist Fellow at the 14th Ateneo HEIGHTS Artists’ Workshop.
Art Critic
Chesca Santiago is an art writer based in Manila. Her writings have appeared in local publications such as Art+ Magazine and Cartellino.
Currently an undergraduate student of anthropology at UP Diliman, she is interested in art practices that are founded on the co-production of knowledge and that uphold social justice. She is curious how art can be mobilized in aid of our fight for human rights, dignity, and life, as seen in her writings about the practices of artists such as Kiri Dalena, Mike Olea, and Jacob Maentz. She aspires to use writing to foster fair and equitable art systems for the entire community.
Stage 0
Conceptualization, Portfolio Review, & Artist Interview
Conceptualization, Portfolio Review, & Artist Interview
The artist provides a brief description of the concept they intend to explore or develop for Confluence.
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Notes on initial concept
Written by AJ Raymundo
Through my work, I hope to be a conduit of conversations on intimate yet also grand narratives on social realities that are otherwise overlooked (obscured?) from the demands of our daily lives. I would like to create visual works developed with communities that I work with that challenge and/or expand, the viewers’ point of view by providing a contemplative space to hopefully prompt discernment. Recurring conceptual preoccupations in my work: memory, city, agency. I find inspiration in my day-to-day interactions in the city, experiences that I always seem to look at through the ethnographic lens. For this project, I’ll be collaborating with the women of Silingan, a Cubao-based coffee shop run by relatives of EJK victims, with the hopes of amplifying their stories of hope and restoration post-drug war.
My intention as an artist is inextricably linked to my personal history, having grown up in a Marcos public housing complex in Taguig, studying at a state university in my teens, then attending an exclusive private Jesuit university for my undergrad. The sheer contrast of these experiences is rather uncanny and it is only now that I am in college that I am reckoning with what seems to be epistemic violence in the realms of knowledge production that excludes narratives from the Filipino masses. Through my practice, I intend to challenge the center and empower the masses that are subalterned by society by amplifying their narratives and empowering them to speak. Writes Cesar A. Cruz: "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable."
I am experimenting with materials and mediums that I will be working with though I often use found objects I gather during my engagement with communities. Being at Silingan for most of my free time inevitably got me closer to them. We exchanged personal stories and from our conversations, I began ruminating about the violence of the killings during the drug war but also the violence in collective amnesia concerning the killings. In the past, I have worked with communities in the sense that I create works based on my ethnographic impulses but often the subjects are more impersonal. In terms of production, this will be my first time directly working with a community to produce artwork.
In this series of artwork, I will experiment with materials often discarded after use to reincarnate them and create visual works that capture the stories of hope and resilience of the women relatives of the EJK victims of the drug war. Much like these materials, the women have found hope and a second chance working at a cafe where they not only brew coffee but also insist that the memories of their departed loved ones persist through storytelling. In the projects co-created with the baristas at Silingan, viewers are introduced to the lives of these women and in turn remind them to remember the violence that transpired at the time but also notice how these women are dealing with grief and finding joy in their everyday lives.
I hope that in response viewers will support Silingan, engage in meaningful conversations with them, and advocate (and advocate loudly towards their plights.
The art critic collects information by reviewing portfolios and conducting artist interviews, which they subsequently use to formulate an initial assessment of the artist's artwork and creative process.
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About AJ Raymundo
Written by Chesca Santiago
AJ Raymundo hails from a milieu that demands an artistic practice rooted in the intent to tell stories. From his days as a student journalist, a member of National Democratic Mass Organizations, a teenager coming of age during Duterte’s regime, and now a major in literature and cultural studies, it appears almost natural that he has honed a commitment to social justice.
Thus, the breadth of his portfolio, evidently still in its emergent stages, reveals Raymundo in his quest to trace counter-narratives. Having been trained in ethnographic methods, he departs from materials of everyday life to follow the stories of who and what is otherwise unheard. For instance, he has taken off from empty tin cans, inspired by the soundscapes of urban life in Indonesia and the Philippines, to trace the pompous yet hollow development of cities in his homeland; from the instant noodle Mi Goreng to tease out street food significations still between the two said countries; from fried chicken to question Filipino national narratives woven from food. It is a practice built on social critique, perhaps the most fitting progression for an artist trained in the social sciences.
Having delved into art-making only in 2022, one sees clearly Raymundo’s propensity to explore medium and process. These are as myriad as his background and thematic interests: installations made of found objects, paper, film, and video—all tapping into the materiality of the narratives he tells, following a trail of inquiry made possible only through his academic training.
Stage 1
Study Work & Work-in-Progress (WIP) Analysis
The artist translates their written concept from Stage 0 into a tangible form and provides a brief artist statement elucidating the work. This stage functions as a research or study phase, focusing on the execution and development of both the form and content of their concept.
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The art critic examines the transitional phases of an artist's production, exploring how the artwork and the artist's practice evolve during the creative process.
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Stage 1 Artwork
Everyday Objects
AJ Raymundo
Plastic comb, liquid silicone
3.5" x 6"
Artist Statement:
This work-in-progress artwork is my first foray and experimentation with casting as a means to producing facsimile of existing objects. In this study, a plastic comb loaned by Nanette Castillo, whose son Aldrin was killed during Duterte’s war on drugs, is casted using liquid silicone. Hinged on memory work, I intend this project to be a collection of reproduction of everyday objects using discarded materials from Silingan Coffee, speaking to the narratives often obscured by the state-sanctioned killing spree.
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Stage 1 Text
Work-in-Progress (WIP) Analysis of Everyday Objects
Written by Chesca Santiago
A lot remains tentative in AJ Raymundo’s work-in-progress. Considering his penchant for experimentation, this tentativeness is one with which we would grow familiar as we witness his work unfold, and one that is nothing less than necessary.
It was only recently that Raymundo finalized his project’s conceptual core. Remembering and moving forward form his framework, which was borne out of careful consultation with his collaborators. For Confluence, Raymundo intends to collaborate with the women running Silingan Coffee, a cafe operated by the kin of victims of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. From being a regular customer, he has fostered a close connection with the women of Silingan. He would frequent the cafe, working on his deadlines as he chatted with the staff manning the counter and making drinks. The first time I met Raymundo was actually in Silingan—the location a suggestion made no less by him. His work with Confluence is thus the result of corresponding, listening, and empathizing with their stories, blossoming to the intent of joining them in asserting their own narratives.
While his vision—culled from his intent to tell stories of the often unheard—remains grounded and sure, Raymundo is still exploring material, process, and form. His general idea is to create facsimiles or reproductions of discarded ephemera from the cafe. Perhaps a comb, some dried coffee beans, and other found objects by which the women of Silingan remember their loved ones. Replicated and preserved possibly by resin or plaster paris. Although the execution remains preliminary, the deployment of the act of reproduction stands cohesive with the framework of remembrance. Thus, Raymundo’s tentativeness is one borne rightfully out of care—a necessary undertaking for a theme as sensitive as the one he has decided to pursue.
Stage 2
Study Execution & Review of Related Works or Literature
Study Execution & Review of Related Works or Literature
The artist will refine the artwork based on insights gained during Stage 1 deliberation and production. Their partner will offer relevant literature or artwork to support the enhancement of both the form and content of the piece.
The art critic persists in examining the artist's creative process and decision-making. Moreover, they seek out relevant literature or artwork that can enhance the development of their counterpart's work.
Stage 2 Artworks
Everyday Objects
AJ Raymundo
Epoxy resin, dried used coffee grounds
Varying dimensions
Artist Statement:
In this series of resin objects, I attempt to capture the ways in which women relatives of those killed during Duterte's drug war negotiate and enforce their hope and agency. These replicas are selected based on the community responses to prompts and insights I gleaned from conversation and observation, which I consulted with them after.
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Stage 2 Text
Work-in-Progress (WIP) Analysis with Review of Related Work or Literature of Everyday Objects
Written by Chesca Santiago
When I first encountered the dialectic between art and ethics earlier this year, my stance was firm. With regard to community-engaged art—under which AJ and I agreed to classify his work—ethics should take precedence over aesthetics. Questions on form and content should be secondary to concerns over the ethical soundness of the artistic process. This echoes American anthropologist Nancy Shepher-Hughes’s argument that research, for all its intrusions to the lives of its collaborators, is inherently invasive (1995). Thus, there is the necessity to not just eliminate (or at least, minimize) the negative impact that a project leaves on the lives of its collaborators; but more importantly, to contribute to the betterment of their well-being.
I came across this art-ethics conundrum again with Claire Bishop’s The Social Turn, a 2006 Artforum essay that appeared relevant to AJ’s current project. In essence, Bishop critiques the “ethical turn” in contemporary community-engaged art—how it has confined its attention to ethics at the expense of aesthetic appraisal. Instead of evaluating the formal dexterity of a work, they are assessed instead for the ethical soundness of their process (e.g. for power imbalances in the collaboration model). More importantly, the moral intent of these projects renders them immune to evaluating their artistic quality. There are no “failed, unsuccessful, unresolved, or boring works of collaborative art because all are equally essential to the task of strengthening the social bond,” as in Bishop’s words.
Safe to say that this shook my once-solid stance, which I have employed so far in approaching AJ’s work for Confluence.
Looking back to my past conversations with AJ, I realized how the two of us have both tended to pay more attention to the ethical dimension of his practice. Arguably, it forms one of his biggest considerations when conceptualizing his work—part of why he has taken quite some time in consulting, verifying, and double-checking with his collaborators at Silingan: a Cubao Expo-based cafe run by families of victims of extrajudicial killings in the country. The main idea that he developed from the initial stages remains—that is, to cast resin facsimiles of objects deemed valuable by the women running the coffee shop. They range from actual items owned by AJ’s collaborators—their hair comb, the coffee grounds they use in the cafe—to AJ’s own representation of more general objects such as money and cosmetic products.
AJ has met success (in the sense that he was finally able to work resin into something of his vision), but the mishaps and worries remain. Most prominently, there is the ceaseless concern for the moral soundness of his practice. At one point, AJ questioned how acceptable it was to take away his collaborators’ precious possessions for the sake of his project. He resolved this concern by expanding his material repertoire—including other objects that were not necessarily the Silingan women’s possessions. I also remember the first time AJ told me about his plans, when one of my initial questions was how much his intentions concur with the sentiments of his collaborators. Questions like these constitute most of our discussions—evidently more attention towards the process over the outcome. I wonder, then, if our approach has been a case of disregarding ethics over aesthetics. Were we the poster children of Bishop’s critique?
Perhaps yes—but rightfully so. Much of AJ’s work rests on an encroachment into his collaborators’ lives. Into their daily routines, into their narratives. And if he dares intrude, he must take caution to remove harm, as Shepher-Hughes has earlier described. With utmost care gleaned from close correspondence with his collaborators, I echo my assessments from Text Stage 1 that AJ has fared well in this regard. To do otherwise is to render his project at best pointless, at worst damaging.
Yet it is not to agree with Bishop’s point that we have neglected art—the formal and technical in AJ’s work. Since January, he has been experimenting with resin. How best to cure it, how precise the mold shape should be, what color the outcome will be if he mixes certain materials with resin. It is his first time working with resin, and he has upheld consistent awareness of the mishaps. A leak in the mold such that it refuses to cure. Too much coffee grounds mixed with resin such that the cast turned out too dark. As it is proper, ethical considerations served as the guiding principle of his aesthetic decisions, such as in our discussion of his expanded repertoire in the earlier paragraphs. Thus, because AJ has taken care to ensure the ethical foundation is firm, I am optimistic that the formal/technical aspects of the project will materialize on solid footing.
References:
Bishop, C. (2006). The social turn: Collaboration and its discontents. Artforum.
Shepher-Hughes, N. (1995). The Primacy of the Ethical: Propositions for a militant anthropology. Current Anthropology, 36(3), 409-440.
Stage 3
Context
The artist progresses from Stage 0 to Stage 2 with a deliberate focus on the context of their work. During this phase, they are encouraged to challenge the possibilities of their work, exploring new potential in material, medium, or form.
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The art critic touches into the broader context of the artist's work, exploring how external factors such as cultural, social, political, and historical influences shape the creation and interpretation of the piece. By examining the artist's environment, personal experiences, and the prevailing ideologies of the time, the critic uncovers deeper layers of meaning within the artwork. This analysis allows for a more comprehensive understanding of how the artist's intentions and the artwork’s reception are intertwined with the world around it, ultimately providing richer insights into its significance.
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Stage 3 Artwork
Untitled
AJ Raymundo
Pencil andEveryday objects reproduction using epoxy resin and coffee grounds Charcoal on Paper
Size vary
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Stage 3 Text
Work-in-Progress (WIP) Analysis with Contextual Analysis of Everyday artifacts of hope and moving forward
Written by Chesca Santiago
Memory, inasmuch as it is a function of the mind, is beyond cerebral. When we reckon it as matter, time, and space suspended together in abstract imaginings, we realize that it is still, at its core, rooted in the material. In the people and places that constitute the substance of what we recollect. In the objects that trigger us to remember, or lead us to forget.
Such materiality of memory has been theorized in the humanities, cultural studies, and other related fields. It has also, most fittingly, figured as a subject and mode of art-making. Laszlo Muntean, Liedeke Plate, and Anneke Smelik’s Materializing Memory in Art and Popular Culture is an anthology of essays that examine creative practices of memory in which materiality is a central device. Looking into forms such as film, architecture, fashion, and the Internet, the authors explore the different links between remembering and things. What is posited is that the material world is a medium of memory through which the latter is made, shaped, and performed.
AJ Raymundo’s project for Confluence employs the same framework: material objects as mediators of his collaborators’ memories. Working with the women of Silingan Coffee, a cafe run by family members of victims of extrajudicial killings during then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs, he casts resin facsimiles of objects deemed precious by his collaborators. They range from actual items owned by the women—a comb, some coffee grounds they use in the cafe—to AJ’s representation of more general objects such as coins and cosmetic products.
With replication as its primary scheme, the project works with memory on two levels. First, and most evidently, it builds upon the memories of AJ’s collaborators. He gathered the objects through various prompts, asking the women about things that they carry with them all the time or things that make them happy, among other cues. These are objects of significance—markers of the women’s identity, an act of agency in defining what constitutes their own lives.
But to a broader degree, the project is also an exercise on memory through its main objective. Asserting his collaborators’ own constructions of their identities, the work most importantly seeks to reconfigure public perceptions of the Silingan women. The objective is a product of AJ’s long-standing ties with his collaborators, who would often lament how the media has boxed their identities into mere victims. But as the rosaries, lipsticks, and keychains would tell, they are more than their past tragedies.
Rendering their memories tangible and marking them in stark incongruity with how they are popularly perceived demonstrates the capacity of the objects in our memories to “help… shape a variety of identities—individual and familial, social, spatial, political, and religious” (Muntean et al., 2019). Thus, the resin facsimiles assert a counter-narrative—shifting the story towards the depth of the women’s identity. This is not to claim that they have forgotten and forgiven. But despite pain, grief, and anger, they are moving forward. Living full lives with their rosaries, lipsticks, and keychains in hand.
Reference:
Muntean, L., Plate, L., & Smelik, A. (2019). Materializing Memory in Art and Popular Culture. Routledge.
Stage 4
Synthesis
The artist, at the final stage of production, must make critical decisions that encapsulate their entire creative journey. This stage is not just about completion, but about reflection—drawing insights from the process that led up to this point. Every experiment, adjustment, and challenge faced in earlier stages influences the choices made now. By looking back on the evolution of their work, the artist ensures that the final piece not only stands as a finished product but also embodies the intentions, revisions, and learnings from the creative process. It becomes a culmination of both vision and experience.
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The art critic engages in a reflective process, examining the developmental stages of the artist's work, including its conceptual evolution and creative process, within the context of the Confluence project. By analyzing the dialogues, critiques, and interactions that have shaped the work, the critic produces a comprehensive synthesis that captures both the essence of the artist's practice and the collaborative journey. This synthesis not only highlights the formal and thematic aspects of the artist's work but also delves into the deeper layers of meaning and intent, offering an insightful narrative that bridges the artist's creative vision with critical interpretation. Through this process, the critic contextualizes the work within the broader framework of contemporary art, while simultaneously foregrounding the unique contributions of the artist and the collaborative dynamics fostered by Confluence.
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Stage 4 Artwork
Everyday artifacts of hope and moving forward
AJ Raymundo
Everyday objects reproduction using epoxy resin and coffee grounds
Size vary
Artist Statement:
Everyday artifacts of hope and moving forward is a community-engaged series made with women of Silingan Coffee comprising a collection of replicas of their everyday objects. The Cubao-based cafe is a space run by more than 30 staff – most of which are women – who are relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings during the Duterte regime. Taking after the conceptual influences of the artist Antoni Muntadas and scholars Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing and Neferti Tadiar, I translate their treasured everyday objects into monuments of value, zooming into the intimate, sometimes mundane, but often profound and griefful narratives of women who found themselves as collateral damages to the state-orchestrated killings. Instead of dwelling on what has happened alone, I point to stories of hope. This is not to disregard their shared cruel histories perpetuated by Duterte’s war on drugs but to focus on radical narratives of moving forward while carrying the weight of their loss and living through a time without a promise of stability. What does the possibility of life look like to them not despite but precisely because of the constant state of precarity, impunity, and their elusive search for justice?
The selection of objects in this series naturally emerged through pakikipagkwentuhan with the women. Women were asked what objects they carry with them everywhere they go or what objects remind them of hope. The responses are varied, from daily essentials to objects of vanity and vices that keep them going—comb, rosary, watch, earphones, money, lipstick, etc. In engaging in the process of collecting and reproducing facsimiles of these objects using discarded coffee grounds from their present source of livelihood, the series seeks to amplify their counternarratives of victimhood towards empowerment and solidarity as they continue to fight against oppresive structures.
Artist’s Reflection on the Confluence Journey:
Everyday artifacts of hope and moving forward is a community-engaged series made with women of Silingan Coffee comprising a collection of replicas of their everyday objects. The Cubao-based cafe is a space run by more than 30 staff – most of which are women – who are relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings during the Duterte regime. Taking after the conceptual influences of the artist Antoni Muntadas and scholars Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing and Neferti Tadiar, I translate their treasured everyday objects into monuments of value, zooming into the intimate, sometimes mundane, but often profound and griefful stories of women who found themselves as collateral damages to the state-orchestrated killings. Instead of dwelling on what has happened alone, I point to stories of hope. This is not to disregard their shared cruel histories perpetuated by Duterte’s war on drugs but to focus on radical narratives of moving forward while carrying the weight of their loss and living through a time without a promise of stability. What does the possibility of life look like to them not despite but precisely because of the constant state of precarity, impunity, and their elusive quest for justice?
The selection of objects in this series naturally emerged through pakikipagkwentuhan with the women, and later substantiated in series of dialogues. They were asked what objects they carry with them everywhere or what objects remind them of hope. The responses are varied, from daily essentials to objects of vanity and vices that keep them going—comb, rosary, watch, earphones, money, lipstick, etc. In engaging in the process of collecting and reproducing facsimiles of these objects using discarded coffee grounds from their present source of livelihood, their memories are rendered tangible, seeking to bring to the fore intimate memories of the women as well as counter-narratives of victimhood towards empowerment and solidarity as they continue to navigate and fight against oppressive structures.
My collaboration with my partner-critic Chesca Santiago deepened and nuanced my understanding of what are at stake when producing art based on community narratives. Our shared background in anthropology and commitment to social justice were the starting point for our collaboration, and her insights allowed me to be reflexive on the ethics of my work during production as opposed to when the work is mounted already. Chesca and I had a lot of exciting conversations about the materiality and process but she made sure to offer necessary critiques that helped me navigate this project meaningfully.
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Art Critic’s Reflection on the Confluence Journey:
The bulk of an art critic’s writing jobs would likely concern finished works. Confluence offered a new framework: whereas the critic’s encounter with an artwork often begins when it is already installed and up for viewing, the project brought me as far back to the work’s nascent stages.
Following the work this closely naturally incited some questions about art criticism. Perhaps my most salient one concerns the autonomy of both the artist and critic. For instance, is it still possible for me, as the critic, to make impartial judgments about the work if I am so privy to the artist’s thought process? How much liberty does the critic have in expressing (in their official written output) contradictory opinions about the work, when their relationship with the artist is also at stake?
Perhaps what these questions made salient to me is our responsibility. It’s hard to gauge the impact, or if there’s an impact in the first place, of whatever work we display or text we publish for the world to read. But there’s always at least one person who sees what we put out—and this was a fact made more apparent to me by Confluence since the feedback process was so immediate. My partner-artist is just right there, perceiving whatever insight (or bullshit) I write about his work. This may not be so obvious outside our Confluence circle, but in the “real” art scene the stakes are actually amplified. We have a whole Internet, art kids, or art community circle coming across our works. So here’s to always being mindful of what we put out, even if we think no one’s minding what we’re spewing.
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Stage 4 Text
Synthesis of Everyday artifacts of hope and moving forward
Written by Chesca Santiago
Memory, inasmuch as it is a function of the mind, is beyond cerebral. When we reckon it as matter, time, and space suspended together in abstract imaginings, we realize that it is still, at its core, rooted in the material. In the people and places that constitute the substance of what we recollect. In the objects that trigger us to remember, or lead us to forget.
Such materiality of memory has been theorized in the humanities, cultural studies, and other related fields. It has also, most fittingly, figured as a subject and mode of art-making. Laszlo Muntean, Liedeke Plate, and Anneke Smelik’s Materializing Memory in Art and Popular Culture is an anthology of essays that examine creative practices of memory in which materiality is a central device. Looking into forms such as film, architecture, fashion, and the Internet, the authors explore the different links between remembering and things. What is posited is that the material world is a medium of memory through which the latter is made, shaped, and performed.
AJ Raymundo’s project for Confluence employs the same framework: material objects as mediators of his collaborators’ memories. Working with the women of Silingan Coffee, a cafe run by family members of victims of extrajudicial killings during then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs, he casts resin facsimiles of objects deemed precious by his collaborators. They range from actual items owned by the women—a comb, some coffee grounds they use in the cafe—to AJ’s representation of more general objects such as coins and cosmetic products.
With replication as its primary scheme, the project works with memory on two levels. First, and most evidently, it builds upon the memories of AJ’s collaborators. He gathered the objects through various prompts, asking the women about things that they carry with them all the time or things that make them happy, among other cues. These are objects of significance—markers of the women’s identity, an act of agency in defining what constitutes their own lives.
But to a broader degree, the project is also an exercise on memory through its main objective. Asserting his collaborators’ own constructions of their identities, the work most importantly seeks to reconfigure public perceptions of the Silingan women. The objective is a product of AJ’s long-standing ties with his collaborators, who would often lament how the media has boxed their identities into mere victims. But as the rosaries, lipsticks, and keychains would tell, they are more than their past tragedies.
Rendering their memories tangible and marking them in stark incongruity with how they are popularly perceived demonstrates the capacity of the objects in our memories to “help… shape a variety of identities—individual and familial, social, spatial, political, and religious” (Muntean et al., 2019). Thus, the resin facsimiles assert a counter-narrative—shifting the story towards the depth of the women’s identity. This is not to claim that they have forgotten and forgiven. But despite pain, grief, and anger, they are moving forward. Living full lives with their rosaries, lipsticks, and keychains in hand.
Reference:
Muntean, L., Plate, L., & Smelik, A. (2019). Materializing Memory in Art and Popular Culture. Routledge.