Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Art Gallery : Filipino Ivatan Art @ Batanes

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Footsteps - Jotaro's Travels

Filipino Ivatan Art @ Batanes

Batanes, Philippines - March 2015

While on a little cycling adventure in the Batanes, I rode pass this attractive shop with a wall of colourful art, and I am always attracted by art. As it turns out this "shop" turned out to be an art gallery and shop run by a cooperative of Ivatan artists with a mission.
The mission in their own words:
"The Yaru nu Artes Ivatan is an association of artists from Batanes whose mission is to help make the arts an eco-friendly industry for sustainable livelihood that supports the indigenous culture and heritage of the islands. We promote fellowship in the visual, written and performing arts. We are passionate young artists who paint, teach others and help local groups and visiting artists with their artistic needs."

Inside, I met with Xavier. He and a few artists were manning the gallery which was founded in February 2011 by the Ivatan artists group Yaru nu Artes Ivatan in collaboration with Fudacion Pacita, a resort hotel which was the former home of renown Ivatan artist, Pacita Abad. See the inspriing work of Pacita Abad at the website www.pacitaabad.com.
In a backroom is a studio where some artists we doing their art pieces. Batanes is a lovely place, full of breathtaking sceneries and lovely people that can inspire and bring forth the creativity.

Below are some of the beautiful pieces of art that I saw at the gallery. Photos of the art may miss out some of the fine features such as brush strokes, etc. Because of the photography angle, I have cropped them to present them better, so some pieces may not be fully complete. It would be better to go there and see these artwork for yourselves and perhaps talk to the artists. Most of these artwork are up for sale.
In the meantime, enjoy:

A series of painting rendered in tribal style on wood, depicting a fish vendor. Cogwheels had been creatively superimposed onto the headpieces of the vendor. As we all interpret artwork in our individual manners, I leave the interpretation to viewers.

A close-up view of one of the pieces.

Another "cog-style" painting on wood; this one looks like a couple of fisherman in a boat netting their fishy catch.

A pair of paintings showing Mother and Child, wearing nice floral shirts.
The frame is interesting, with two side borders of round sticks.

Close-up of one of the Mother & Child pieces; I love the colourful dresses. Note the mother is wearing a vakul, an abaca fiber-made wig-like headgear for sunlight and rain protection.

This watercolour painting is based on the iconic image of an Ivatan fisherman with his catch of Dorado fish hanging from a stick.

Under a surrealistic purple sky, an Ivatan man retruning home with his harvest in a rattan-weave basket (Watercolour).
Note: the two pieces on the bottom left are not part of this painting; those depict the timber window shutters of a typical Ivatan stone house.

"Joseph & Mary"
Mary seems to be wearing a vakul, and their haloes are comprised of barnacle shells.

"Praying Mother & Child"
A composite painting with pvc wire strips used to decorate the hair of the mother and child's blouse. Within the mother's hair is the classic Batanes image of a stone house. Behind them should be the Sabtang lighthouse.

A fisherman at doorway of stonehouse.
This is an interesting piece, rendered in such a way that it has a 3-D feel.

A young Ivatan girl saying thankful grace for a fruitful harvest.

Batanes houses rendered in pastel colours; a composite oil & ceramic artwork.

Sketch of Ivatan woman wearing a Vakul wig.

Sketch of Batanes houses with thatch roof.

Basco Lighthouse.

Ivatan Vernacular House.

Sunset At Basco Lighthouse.

Blue doorway with flowering tree.

Vunung
Young Ivatan girl with offering.

Fudacion Pacita, the home of Pacita Abad, Now a resort hotel.

Country scene with two vernacular stone-houses.

Stonehouses at Sabtang.

Ivatan kitchen.

Coconut crab eating coconut.

Lilac Orchids.

Boy cutting timber at Mt. Iraya.

Ivatan villagers building a new thatch roof at Itbayat.

Ivatan boy harvesting corn.

Ivatan Farmer & His Carabao.
This one has an unique mother of pearl frame.

A string of garlic - panel wood carving.

Ivatan Children.

Old Ivatan farmer woman wearing a Vakul.

Facial Expressions.
Ivatan woman in Vakul wig.

Playing the violin.

El Dorado Harvest.

Dreamy Ivatan Girl

Basco Lighthouse in technicolor.
A composite artform using pvc wires.

Batanes house doorway.
A composite painting with cut barnacles shells, rope, etc.

A dove bearing flowers at Basco Lighthouse.

A Heavy Metal Rock Guitarist?
A composite form.

A family at the window.
Interesting art form of a painting within a painting.

Lovers.
A good effect by the artist; wired art but from afar it looks like ozone glass.

Showing the ropes.

Peering.

A harvest basket of garlic.

A pair of happy Dorado fish.

A giant sea snail.

Wheels & Bearings Easy Chair.

Metallic Dog.
This seems to be Yaru's pet; one moment it was here, another moment it was there.

YARU GALLERY & ART SHOP
National Road, Kaychanarianan, Basco, Batanes 3900, Philippines.
Tel: +63949 9857037 / +63905 4098536
Email: artbatanes@gmail.com Facebook: https: Yaru nu Artes Ivatan
Webpage: http://artbatanes.blogspot.com/
Hours: Monday to Friday - 10am to 6pm Saturday & Sunday - 2pm to 6pm
GPS: 20.447210, 121.968169

Related Blogs :

Philippines 2015 : Beautiful Batanes

Batanes is one of the most beautiful spots on earth. It's like a piece of heaven on earth that God in His happiness have dropped these pearls into the Pacific Ocean for us to enjoy.

Taiwan Aboriginal Art @ Formosan Aboriginal Village Sun Moon Lake (九族文化村)

Taiwanese tribal art which tells of legends - Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan.

Art Gallery of New South Wales - Australian Aborigine Art

Cycling Philippines Batanes 2015 : 14th to 21st March 2015

Summary of our 8-day trip to cycle at the beautiful Batanes Islands, Philippines. These islands are like pieces of heaven on earth, like pearls in the sea.

Philippines Batanes 2015 : Marfel's Lodge

A homely homestay for those looking for good accommodations at the Batanes. Cooking & laundry facilities available - Basco, Batan Island, Batanes, Philippines.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

YummY! - Thai Street Food @ Go Thai SS2

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YummY!

Jotaro's Food Review

THAI STREET FOOD @ GO THAI SS2

SS2, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia - March 2015

Stewed Pig Trotters over the braize.

Being from Penang, and of Baba-Nyonya stock (and perhaps with a bit of Thai, Burmese genes too) I have always had a penchant for Thai food. Those fanciful ones at posh Thai restaurants are good, but my Penang street food palate yearns for something similar, something Thai & something street food.
So when we popped into Go Thai, I was most delighted as here is Thai street food served in a simple yet clean premises.... and the bottom line is... it's at reasonable pricing and served by odd but cheerful waitresses. But we will come to those waitresses later, let's look at the food first.

First off, the Khao Kha Moo. I like the name, it's easy to remember but it has nothing to do with cows or moos. Order it and one will be served with the stewed pig trotters that comes with white rice, half a soy-blanched half-boiled egg and some tasty Thai chilli sauce.
The meat of the trotter was firm and tender, while the pork skin was soft. This dish is good and tasty. It brings back to me those trotters that I had at Pratunam, Bangkok; those were heavenly slurpily soft.

The good thing here is that the some of the simpler food are prepared by a couple of Thai ladies at the servery right at the entrance of the restaurant. So one can expect a good degree of authenticity in their food. The two Thai chefs are from North-east Thailand, so expect the food here to have that Isan regional flavour.

Som Tum (Papaya Salad).
Now this is the dish that woke up my tongue.... not that slow ~~hello.. wakey up~~~, but more that cold water jerk type. It is a simple dish with superlatives, strong tangy flavour coupled with syrupy sweetness - a sharp combo wake up call.
The papaya is there, so are some bean sprouts, chilli. Not enough kick? Then squeeze a bit of lime juice for that final oomph!

Moo Thad Kathiam
Another staple dish, one of rice served with pork slices stir fried in garlic sauce and a fluffy fried egg.

Moo Ping (Charcoal Grilled Pork Fillet)
This is a "Not To Be Missed" dish - tender pork fillet slowly grilled over a charcoal fire. The seasoning coated the fillet with a slightly sweet caramel layer. My... oh my... this is one real YummY! dish; I would recommend taking this by itself and not with any rice.
(My apologies, this dish was served with three pieces of the Moo Ping.... it was too tempting and my buddies could not wait.... they just "gasak!")

Although termed as street food, the Moo Ping was hygienically barbecued over a stainless steel grille.

Another "Not To Be Missed" dish, their lovely Seafood Tom Yum; one that's thick and an appetizing chilli-red in colour. Sweet, sour & spicy; this is one of the best Tom Yum I have tried.

Still hungry? Then go for this Kwei Tiow In Clear Pork Soup; it comes with a lot of pork - pork slices, minced pork and pork balls.

To finish off a wonderful meal, the ever favourite Tub Thim Krob dessert; as they describe it rubies of water-chestnuts enclosed in tapioca flour. Here they use shaved ice, a better choice than the crushed ice used at other places.

Okay, I better come back to those waitresses; they were not odd in that "odd" sense. They are odd because they were Filipinas dressed in straw hats and simple white tee-shirts ala Pinoy. They do stand out - i.e. Filipinos in a Thai restaurant! But I must say they liven up the place with their cheerful smiles and very good service. Go Thai may not serve fusion food, but there is a warm fusion of culture here.

Another friendly feature; this happy elephant helpfully points the directions to the restrooms.

The food is good, the service happily excellent, the place simple yet presentably clean and the pricing is right.
Let's go Go Thai!