Epjey Pacheco
March 6 -27, 2021
Blanc Gallery
145 Katipunan Avenue, St. Ignatius Village, Quezon City, Philippines
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Portraying scenes of the human condition under isolation and retreat is at the center of Epjey Pacheco’s “Drifting in Place.” Situated in settings where the subject is pitted against himself, the exhibition poses existential inquiries in addressing the true nature of man when confronted by uncontrollable and inevitable circumstances. The events of the past year had influenced Pacheco in thinking more about these concerns. Hence, translating these wanderings through phantasmagorical images that display certain degrees of satire and fantasy.
In “Torment,” the artist re-interpreted a classic scenario familiar in paintings where Catholic saints and martyrs wrestle against temptation. Thus, a central figure appears to be in the middle of a chaotic and agonizing scuffle but remains undeterred and unmoved. Meanwhile, Pacheco reveals the opposite in another piece titled “Frailty.” A dissected face of a man rendered in almost-cubist style is at the forefront of the narrative. Pacheco points to this as a “moment of unraveling,” where man cannot make a better judgment and could easily succumb to primal and basic urges. Similar to Freud’s articulation of the Id, Pacheco disseminates an image that characterizes such instinctual desires by illustrating the spilling imaginary reptilian qualities of a man.
Pacheco’s meditations continue in his “Into the Haze” series. Here, snippets of his deliberations are presented in symbolic positions that intersect between primitive and futuristic impressions. While the presence of a dominating character is still visible, the compositions dispense the idea that man is not the center of the universe but is only a mere fragment of it. Hence, all the otherworldly elements are equally important and significant. These ruminations are repeatedly discussed in “Drifting in Place” as a way to interrogate and deconstruct human behavior in an era where mortality is, perhaps, at its most vulnerable hold.
”Drifting in Place” collects all these visages. Together, they emit an imagined realm that amplifies the staggering reality we all carry on day by day. The monochromatic and figurative cues found in Pacheco’s works corner us in an altercation between our consciousness and insensibilities. How do we continue defining the true nature of man when the world keeps shifting? Perhaps, the only way is to be more susceptible to rare moments where we can meander gently into these changes and keep our bodies still.
