Justifying and Encrypting the Mundane
Justifying and encrypting the mundane
Amiel Gerald A. Roldan™
August 2, 2026
The claim does not hold up under scrutiny of the artists' actual practices, exhibition framing, and public reception. It treats broad thematic overlap (decay, nostalgia, organic matter) as if it automatically legitimizes a sudden, highly specific visual shift, while downplaying the concrete similarities that prompt confusion and Orencio's concerns.
Shannah Orencio has developed a recognizable practice over years centered on oil paintings of withered flora, dried leaves, petals, stems, and organic fragments. These often appear in dense, border-to-border or flat-lay compositions emphasizing deterioration, memory, and mourning. This is evident from early work like the 2018 *Vase Life* monochromes of decaying petals/leaves/stems, the 2019 *Flower Box* series (focusing on “shriveled up remnants of a once happy time”), subsequent pieces such as “The one with the fishbone” (2020), and continuing through *Rituals of Recovery* (2024). Her approach treats foraged botanical remains as personal archives of time, place, and loss—not generic nature studies.
Ayka Go's established body of work, by contrast, centers on hyperrealistic trompe-l'oeil oil paintings of folded, layered, creased, torn, or collaged paper. These explore girlhood nostalgia, memory, domesticity, womanhood, loss, and resilience through the material qualities of paper itself (creases, shadows, dimensionality). Gallery and press materials consistently describe this as her signature. Her 2026 *small vast things* exhibition at Silverlens is explicitly framed as a “significant departure” from those paper forms. The notes link the shift to time spent cultivating a studio garden in 2025, observing cycles of growth/decay (fallen leaves, insects), and experimenting with smaller brushes and expanded color. “turning season” (96 × 72 in)—a large-scale flat expanse of dead leaves, organic fragments, forest litter, and dried petals in muted earth tones—is presented as responding to dry-season textures. Paper elements remain via cocoon sculptures, but the leafy painting marks a clear pivot in subject and surface treatment.
The defense that Go's prior “sensing of decay and nostalgia” naturally “led to this exhibition” overstates continuity. Decay and nostalgia are extremely common artistic themes (vanitas traditions, botanical studies of wilting forms across centuries, paper's own ephemerality in Go's earlier work). They do not dictate a specific compositional language of densely packed, flat-laid, border-filling withered flora that closely echoes Orencio's established approach. Exhibition materials themselves treat the foliage canvases as a new direction rather than an organic outgrowth of Go's paper oeuvre. Scale differences (Go's piece is large) and differing personal histories/contexts do not erase the visual overlap that caused viewers familiar with Orencio's work to message her asking if she had a new show (“Do you have a show?”) and to attribute the painting to her. Orencio and Go, both UP Fine Arts graduates and long acquainted with mutual awareness of each other's practices, were not strangers; that context heightens the awkwardness of the resemblance.
Philippine IP law (and general copyright principles) does not protect ideas, subjects, or styles per se—anyone can paint dried leaves or explore decay. Protection attaches to specific expression. Orencio has repeatedly stated that she does not claim ownership of nature or dried flora as subject matter. Her objection targets the particular combination of elements, arrangement, treatment of deterioration, and overall visual language that had become associated with her practice across multiple bodies of work. Public confusion is evidence that the resemblance was not trivial or purely coincidental in the eyes of viewers.
In short: different personal backstories and a stated garden-inspired pivot do not automatically make the works "completely" distinct when the resulting image lands so close to a peer's long-developed signature that people mistake one for the other. The claim reframes a documented departure and resulting ethical friction as seamless continuity. Influence and parallel evolution happen constantly in art; the issue raised is whether this instance crossed into insufficient differentiation from a known peer's specific visual language. The evidence of practice histories, exhibition framing, and audience reaction supports treating that concern as legitimate rather than dismissing it via broad thematic equivalence.
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The claim is at odds with the artists' actual practice, the exhibition's framing, and public reception. It treats the broad thematic overlap (decay, nostalgia, organic matter) as if it automatically legitimizes the sudden, highly specific visual shift, while ignoring the concrete similarities that caused Orencio's confusion and concern.
Shannah Orencio has a long-standing recognizable practice centered on oil paintings of withered flora, dried leaves, petals, stems, and organic fragments. She often works in dense, border-to-border or flat-lay compositions that emphasize deterioration, memory, and mourning. This can be seen from early works such as the 2018 *Vase Life* monochromes of decaying petals/leaves/stems, the 2019 *Flower Box* series (focused on “shriveled up remnants of a once happy time”), subsequent pieces such as “The one with the fishbone” (2020), and continuing through *Rituals of Recovery* (2024). Her approach treats foraged botanical remains as personal archives of time, place, and loss—not generic nature studies.
Sa kabilang dako, ang established body of work ni Ayka Go ay nakasentro sa hyperrealistic trompe-l’oeil oil paintings ng folded, layered, creased, torn, o collaged paper. Sinisiyasat nito ang girlhood nostalgia, memory, domesticity, womanhood, loss, at resilience sa pamamagitan ng material qualities ng paper mismo (creases, shadows, dimensionality). Pare-parehong inilalarawan ito ng gallery at press materials bilang kanyang signature. Ang 2026 *small vast things* exhibition niya sa Silverlens ay tahasang naka-frame bilang “significant departure” mula sa mga paper forms na iyon. Iniugnay ng notes ang shift sa oras na ginugol sa pag-cultivate ng studio garden noong 2025, pag-obserba sa cycles of growth/decay (fallen leaves, insects), at pag-eksperimento sa smaller brushes at expanded color. Ang “turning season” (96 × 72 in)—isang large-scale flat expanse ng dead leaves, organic fragments, forest litter, at dried petals sa muted earth tones—ay ipinakita bilang tugon sa dry-season textures. May nananatiling paper elements sa pamamagitan ng cocoon sculptures, ngunit ang leafy painting ay malinaw na pivot sa subject at surface treatment.
Ang depensa na ang dating “sensing of decay and nostalgia” ni Go ay natural na “nagdulot sa exhibition na ito” ay sobrang pinapalaki ang continuity. Ang decay at nostalgia ay napakakaraniwang artistic themes (vanitas traditions, botanical studies ng wilting forms sa iba’t ibang siglo, at ang ephemerality ng paper sa earlier work ni Go). Hindi nito idinidikta ang specific compositional language ng densely packed, flat-laid, border-filling withered flora na malapit na umaalingawngaw sa established approach ni Orencio. Ang exhibition materials mismo ang nagtatrato sa foliage canvases bilang bagong direksyon sa halip na organic outgrowth ng paper oeuvre ni Go. Ang differences sa scale (malaki ang piece ni Go) at magkakaibang personal histories/contexts ay hindi nabubura ang visual overlap na naging dahilan kung bakit may mga viewer na pamilyar sa work ni Orencio na nag-message sa kanya na nagtatanong kung may bagong show siya (“May show ka ba?”) at inaatribute ang painting sa kanya. Parehong UP Fine Arts graduates sina Orencio at Go at matagal nang magkakilala na may mutual awareness sa practice ng isa’t isa; hindi sila strangers, kaya mas lalong awkward ang resemblance.
Ang Philippine IP law (at general copyright principles) ay hindi nagpoprotekta sa ideas, subjects, o styles per se—sinuman ay maaaring magpinta ng dried leaves o mag-explore ng decay. Ang proteksyon ay nakakabit sa specific expression. Paulit-ulit na sinabi ni Orencio na hindi niya claim ang ownership sa nature o dried flora bilang subject matter. Ang kanyang objection ay nakatuon sa particular combination ng elements, arrangement, treatment ng deterioration, at overall visual language na naging associated sa kanyang practice sa maraming bodies of work. Ang public confusion ay ebidensiya na ang resemblance ay hindi trivial o pure coincidence sa mata ng mga viewer.
Sa madaling sabi: ang magkakaibang personal backstories at isang stated garden-inspired pivot ay hindi automatic na ginagawang “completely” distinct ang mga works kapag ang resulting image ay napakalapit sa long-developed signature ng isang peer na napagkakamalang kay Orencio. Inire-frame ng claim ang documented departure at resulting ethical friction bilang seamless continuity. Madalas mangyari ang influence at parallel evolution sa art; ang isyung itinaas ay kung ang instance na ito ay tumawid sa insufficient differentiation mula sa specific visual language ng isang kilalang peer. Sinusuportahan ng ebidensiya mula sa practice histories, exhibition framing, at audience reaction ang pagtrato sa concern na iyon bilang lehitimo sa halip na i-dismiss ito sa pamamagitan ng broad thematic equivalence.
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Amiel Gerald A. Roldan™' s connection to the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) serves as a defining pillar of his professional journey, most recently celebrated through the launch of the ACC Global Alumni Network.As a 2003 Starr Foundation Grantee, Roldan participated in a transformative ten-month fellowship in the United States. This opportunity allowed him to observe contemporary art movements, engage with an international community of artists and curators, and develop a new body of work that bridges local and global perspectives.Featured Work: Bridges Beyond Borders His featured work, Bridges Beyond Borders: ACC's Global Cultural Collaboration, has been chosen as the visual identity for the newly launched ACC Global Alumni Network.Symbol of Connection: The piece represents a private collaborative space designed to unite over 6,000 ACC alumni across various disciplines and regions.Artistic Vision: The work embodies the ACC's core mission of advancing international dialogue and cultural exchange to foster a more harmonious world.Legacy of Excellence: By serving as the face of this initiative, Roldan's art highlights the enduring impact of the ACC fellowship on his career and his role in the global artistic community.Just featured at https://www.pressenza.com/2026/01/the-asian-cultural-council-global-alumni-network-amiel-gerald-a-roldan/
He is a Filipino multidisciplinary visual artist, printmaker, painter, independent curator, researcher, writer, and cultural worker whose practice spans contemporary art, curatorial work, and cultural advocacy. He has been active in the Philippine art scene since the late 1990s and has worked with galleries, museums, artist-run spaces, and international cultural organizations.
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A multidisciplinary Filipino artist, poet, researcher, and cultural worker whose practice spans painting, printmaking, photography, installation, and writing. He is deeply rooted in cultural memory, postcolonial critique, and in bridging creative practice with scholarly infrastructure—building counter-archives, annotating speculative poetry like Southeast Asian manuscripts, and fostering regional solidarity through ethical art collaboration.
He has been active in the Philippine art scene since the late 1990s and has worked with galleries, museums, artist-run spaces, and international cultural organizations.His practice appears to represent several interconnected concerns:
Cultural work as artistic practice. Roldan has argued that the labor of curating, organizing exhibitions, teaching, documentation, and cultural administration should be understood as creative work rather than merely support work. This perspective has been reflected in his writings and exhibitions.
Social and political engagement. His artworks frequently address politics, religion, faith, denial, courage, social inequality, and the everyday experiences of Filipinos. He has stated that he draws inspiration from Filipino cultural practices while approaching painting, printmaking, and installation from a conceptual perspective.Printmaking and conceptual art. Roldan is particularly recognized for his printmaking, with works shown internationally, including exhibitions in Japan and France. His practice also encompasses painting, photography, installation, and curatorial research.International cultural exchange. A significant milestone in his career was receiving an Asian Cultural Council fellowship in 2003, which enabled him to undertake research and create work in the United States while engaging with artists and curators internationally.
More broadly, Roldan's work represents an attempt to bridge artistic production, curatorial practice, scholarship, and cultural activism . His writings often emphasize postcolonial discourse, cultural memory, and the ethics of artistic collaboration, positioning the artist not only as a maker of objects but also as a builder of cultural infrastructure.
In the Philippine contemporary art context, he can be understood as representing the figure of the artist-curator-cultural worker —someone who contributes both through making artworks and through developing exhibitions, mentoring artists, and fostering institutional and independent cultural initiatives.
Recent show at ILOMOCA
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Amiel Gerald A. Roldan™ started Independent Curatorial Manila™ as a nonprofit philanthropy while working for institutions simultaneously early on.
The Independent Curatorial Manila™ or ICM™ is a curatorial services and guide for emerging artists in the Philippines. It is an independent/voluntary services entity and aims to remain so. Selection is through proposal and a prerogative temporarily. Contact above for inquiries.
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