Pagkakataon

more to come soon ...

There are 310 small butterflies.

There are 550 large butterflies.

340 large butterflies are spray painted black.

130 small butterflies are spray painted black.

Kapisanan Kultura Festival 2012

Installation: Pagkakataon

At the Kapisanan KULTURA Festival
August 17th - 31st
The Kapisanan Philippine Centre
167 Augusta Ave, Toronto, ON M5T 2L4

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At long last!  For the first time since leaving our old school club, we've set up a large scale art installation that is to be displayed in a gallery space.  We've been prepping this for months; working out conceptual details, feeling out the idea, fine tuning the technical details.  I wont spoil it, but tell you briefly that for the past three weeks we've been hand-tracing, hand-cutting, and mass spray-painting some 1000 individual pieces that will come together to form our final exhibition piece for the Kapisanan KULTURA Festival.

It's become common practice with us to create something from several smaller somethings.  But that's how our group has become so I guess it's not much of a surprise.  Pagkakataon means 'chance'.  Our meeting and coming together as a group can in a way be described as just that - as pagkakataon.  We're a mixed group of people in practically ever aspect that you could think of, including our disciplines at uni. That doesn't mean we can't all share an understanding of  themes and ideas.  

Kapisanan's theme for this year's KULTURA Festival was Pamahiin, meaning ritual.  

Did you know black butteflies mean death?

Did you know white butterflies mean wealth?

Do you think butterflies could mean anything at all? Do you want them to?

Super Crawl 2011

The 2010 and 2011 editions of the James St. N. Super Crawl were fantastic fun.  Lots of activity, tons of people, multitudes of art, and enough good eats and drinks to keep you going from noon to midnight.  Of course, when a group of artists, even small-time folks like us, are told that an entire street is closed off for an art event the natural thing to do is to abuse chalk and pavement.

First, how about I explain the starfish and crocodile/mermaid: We started with the person hanging off the yellow median.  Then added the predators (for the lols).  Aw no!  And then we decided it was unfair to the predators to be the bad guys.  So we made them beautiful!  I believe we tried to switch the 'Aw no!' to an 'Aw Yes!' but without the proper tools, ex. water, it was too much of a challenge.

The water lilies: Were planned.  There is never enough interactive art at these events.  Everyone wants you to look but  no one wants you touch.  So we grabbed some chalk with the intent of making something fun.  As we were halfway through it we wondered if kids, or anyone, would get the idea.  Three seconds later three little kids came bounding out of nowhere.  They used the lilies like hopscotch.  Aw Yes!

We're going to do all of this again; the Super Crawl; the chalk, the lilies.  Keep an eye out for MOT at NB and Super Crawl 2012.

V2: Issue 2

Our second pride issue.  Like PRIDE, an expression of difference and individuality, we left the front and back of this issue blank to let everyone draw their own cover.  We've had dreams of doing a colour issue for a long time but funding has prevented that from being followed through.  Instead, personalized and unique covers for each copy of the issue was its own kind of fun.

Thanks to everybody who drew a cover.
Thanks to everybody who took a copy.
Thanks to everybody who put it aside if they didn't like it so somebody else could pick it up.
And thanks to everyone who puts on the Toronto Pride.
Here's to celebrating our uniquenesses (yes, lets use it as a word).

View the full zine under The Zine heading.

V2: Issue 1: Pages

[chris]

Colour.  Right now our biggest ambition is to do a whole issue, even just a single issue, entirely in colour.  Just think, a whole 16 pages with the entire pallet of the "visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue, and others." (-Wikipedia).

[ava] [cat] [a] [chris]

V2: Issue 1

Hello, Volume 2,

Glad you made it!  Who would've thought we'd get to see you so soon.  Who would've thought we'd get to see you at all.  We're looking forward to spending lots of time with you.

Sincerely,
MOT

Find us today.  We're where we've been, at this same time, practically every month.  Crawling.  It's fitting that the cover to this issue is a tribute to our town, the place our collective has stemmed from.  None of us can say it's a particularly glorious town to be in but its got charms and perks.  Tonight we're going to walk its streets and leave our zine in nooks and crannies were the interested will come across it.  If you're one of those people you'll note that there is a GLARING TYPO on the front cover! :o 
We'll be printing another 50 issues soon that will hopefully be free of that.  But hey, you get to have a special edition!

View the full zine under The Zine heading.

TCAF 2012

Did you, perhaps, pick up a copy of our zine at this year's TCAF?

Why not leave us a comment/criticism/didactic poem?

*nudge nudge *hint hint *puppy eyes

*No honey boys were harmed in the making of this tomfoolery.*

You can purchase your own honey boys 

at St. Lawrence Market.

More on TCAF: in this post