Local Street Art, Expression of One’s Individuality

There are people who just want to break out of that shell that has cocooned them from living under their safe shelter. Freedom is something that every individual has to experience in their daily lives for it will help one become more expressive of their thoughts instead of having them trapped inside their minds forever because they are too scared to let it out. As seen in the present metropolis of Cebu, it won’t be hard to find graffiti’s on walls, also known as street art.

If one goes around Cebu, you will never miss a clean wall located on the streets because that wall has already been painted on or vandalized by street artists. The canvas that the street artists leave on the wall is not like any artwork French Impressionist painter Claude Monet or a toddler in school made. The present street art found in Cebu would look rather eccentric.

Back when I was a close-minded child, I was so surprised with why none of the government officials or policemen did not capture the artists vandalizing the walls, and back then, when I would pass by the walls of Escario, I would get appalled with the images of five-eyed monsters, brains, slime and guts being painted on such a huge wall for everyone to see. The wall in Escario was not even hard to miss out because it was just located on the streets.

I am happy to be taking the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Advertising Arts in the University of San Carlos. Being surrounded with such a creative, obscure crowd every day, my days of having a close-minded way of thinking was over. When taking a fine arts course, students will be asked to go out of their limit and break the rules when they can, especially when this involves projects.

In our college, we have a painting studio filled with artworks done by the alumni, students and teachers. A good friend of mine, who is currently taking up Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting, loves to critique artwork. He has rational ways of explaining it; he says it in not a positive way, nor in a negative way. It just comes to show that each artwork made explains a story, and is a common way of one expressing individuality.

If I go back to my days as a child, I would get freaked out by the images of five-eyed monsters, brains, slime and guts, in the present, looking at the graffiti on the walls impress me a lot, leading to the point where I try my best to decipher the meaning behind it. Even if there is no story behind the canvas painted on the streets, the courage to have one’s individuality and mind expressed through a huge canvas painted on the walls of the street is just brave. With street art, Cebu is becoming a more colorful and creative city, it is not only the colorful Korean-themed cafes and tall skyscrapers adding to the beauty of everything.

Soi Kalinaw, also known by his stage name Soika, stated in a Sunstar article that the reason he does street art is because it (taken from Sun Star Article ‘Secrets of Soika) affords him his freedom, the very factor that got him into street art in the first place. “Para nako, ang street art ang tinuod nga malayang sining,” he says fervently. No rules, no expectations and no discrimination. Having the freedom to express in a creative way is something beautiful to witness, because the outcome can either be beautiful or haunting, depending on the viewer.

After seeing those horrific, haunting images and bright neon colors painted and sprayed on the walls of the streets of Cebu, some people might just easily judge the canvas for being too scary or too ugly, but taking a minute to open your eyes and your mind on views may change everything. Some people may not appreciate the beauty of street art because they find it too controversial, but that’s alright, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It’s beautiful to see the freedom of artists expand.

Sources:

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/lifestyle/2015/04/06/secrets-soika-401117

http://www.facebook.com/ubecrew

About the Author: Katrina Jaiun V. Roa is a 19-year old, fourth year Bachelor of Fine Arts in Advertising Arts student currently studying in the University of San Carlos-Talamban Campus. She is also currently the Managing Editor of Administration of Today’s Carolinian, the official publication of the University of San Carlos.