Now/here comprises a series of projects that rethink the geographic and institutional history of the Lopez Museum.
The soil in the exhibit area was excavated from the old site of the Lopez Museum in Pasay, which was torn down after the institution moved to its present site in 1985. Since architectural records of the Museum were lost, Plataporma cleared an area which approximates the interior floor area of the old building.
The Manansala mural tracing is based on an archival photo. The actual mural was destroyed along with the old Lopez Museum building. As an attempt to salvage a lost work of art, this will also be appearing as a children's coloring activity page.
The mapping exercise tries to evaluate people's familiarity with the Lopez Museum. Feigning ignorance of the Museum's location, Plataporma started by simply asking people how to get to the Museum until we eventually found ourselves in the museum premises.
Several interviews were conducted within a one-kilometer area of the past, present and future sites of the Museum to assess people's familiarity with art and museums. These interviews could function as possible templates for future projects and interventions.
Some components in this multimedia exhibition will be evolving within the allotted 6 months. Updates, supplementary material and documentation of the various Now/here projects will be posted on a blog active between November 2010 and April 2011.
List of projects:
Now/here: Graphical map notations
Notations on Metro Manila CitiAtlas outlining the “imagined zones of responsibility,” locations and activities of several Now/here projects in the Metro Manila area.
Now/here: Mapping
Psycho-geographical mapping of directions going to Lopez Museum captured in 35mm film and digital audio recordings. Part 1 - Craig St., Sampaloc to Benpres Bldg., Ortigas; Part 2 - Pasay City Hall to Benpres Bldg., Ortigas.
Now/here: Interviews
Part 1 - Interviews about art and museums with various respondents within a one- kilometer radius of the 3 sites of the Museum: 1) old site at 10 Lancaster St., Pasay; 2) present site at Benpres Bldg, Ortigas; and 3) future site at Rockwell, Makati. Part 2 & 3 - Interviews about art and museums with students from the Philippine National School for the Blind & the Philippine School for the Deaf.
Now/here: Excavation/expirative strategy, v.1
Video of clearing a shallow excavation at Km. 135, Maharlika Highway, Barangay Alupaye, Pagbilao, Quezon, suggesting an imaginary future site of Lopez Museum with reference to the floor area of its old museum building in Pasay, projected on the actual soil taken from the former.
Now/here: The missing Manansala mural
Outline of the Manansala mural destroyed along with the old museum building appearing in 2 versions: 1) Life-sized outline drawing of the mural on the wall replicating the lost original; and 2) A coloring activity page.
Now/here: Nowhere
Features different radio-based programming and sound-based work.
Now/here: Radio/active
Audio playback on site-specific FM microtransmissions broadcast within the Museum, composed of Now/here: Mapping, Now/here: Interview with the students from the Philippine School for the Blind, and Now/here: Nowhere.
Now/here: hyperextensions
Web-based sub-project of Now/here consisting of cataloguing, documentation and other notes in text and images.
