Lena Cobangbang
All This Useless Beauty
11 – 25 September 2007

The eyes fix themselves in seeing things holistically, as to Friedrich Nietzsche who once made an interesting observation on human interpretation of external reality: perceiving a tree with branches full of leaves in all imaginable colors, our minds process these variations of colors into a unified interpretation, thus we boldly say: “that tree has leaves on it”, so they are summed up into their final forms somewhat correctly corresponding with the original objects seen, until we are left with only meaningless symbols out of context, disconnecting us from our outside realities. For the limited mind, therefore, nullifies all the supposed extent of the object, though it is obvious that an amount of laborious work has been done to a certain level of threshold, patience, or time.  

A tattoo, for this matter, done by invasive needles pinning through the pores of the skin, eats up a huge deal to contemplate on the tingling and itching, getting it done is such a beauty, then afterwards it gets private – often left unseen or unnoticed; or project kits which were planned out carefully and meticulously, in turn, time ran short on them with a delay, keeping them intact yet disguised in a box; or a broken bottle left lying on the floor, unknowingly what could have been a softer landing for the object; or a carpet soiled in its infamous way of how the threshold of toxicity takes on a plateau; or the photo of friends, knowing them is another comfort, cocooning on its preparation to take flight: deducing all these objects to meaningless symbols done by thoughts and wasted away by passing time.  

‘There is a light that never goes out’ from the lamp installed on one corner of the room. Bringing these hopeful unseen objects to light.  The pleasure of seeing and looking at things for the first or second time, clearly inextricably explains on how things are aesthetically - assured by much laborious time on extremely reenacting the act of puncturing needles on clothes making these tattoo images familiar again; or failed/unexecuted project kits suspended on a shelf interactively suggesting its strangeness and undisguised recognition; or felt material hovering the broken bottle making itself shatter as a known landing; or the vomit carpet consciously making it feel good to land on felt after a consumed toxic encounter; or the rules of association with people goes on infinitely, taking affirmation on photos and stories; confirmed and intricately shared by these objects to be ever seen again – now.  

These objects are supposed stances of beautified objects, making them more appalling at the same time ruined by disruption of details all over the objects; somehow we go back to the deductive process of making things simply simple. Forgetting what is:  “All this useless beauty”, Lena Cobangbang’s latest exhibit opens on Sept. 11 at Magnet Katipunan which will coincide with Sonic Youth Night with performances by Sam and Pow, Inconnoictu, KAloy Olavides, Bea and Diego, Blast Ople, Nocturnal We among others.  
 
 
 All This Useless Beauty opens on September 11 (Tuesday) and will be on view up to September 25 (Tuesday), 2007 at Mag:net Gallery, located at the AGCOR Building 335 Katipunan Avenue (fronting Miriam and Ateneo), Quezon City. For more inquiries please call 9293191 or visit www.magnet.com.ph.