Beauty from the Broken

Swiss Artist Jurg Casserini

June 12 – 30, 2021

The Artologist Gallery
The Art Plaza, Level 4, Shangri-La Plaza Main Wing 1550 Mandaluyong, Philippines

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Hundred thousand or millions of small and big “Bangkas”are in use over the 7000 Islands in the Philippines and play an enormous importance in the daily life of the Philippine people. The”Bangkas”are used for transportation between the Islands as well as by the millions of fishermen or by people enjoying trips for their leisure.

Every year, hundreds or thousands of “Bangkas” are destroyed by storms, typhoons or even tsunamis. In the rainy or monsoon season, the loss of “Bangkas” is enormous.The loss of lives is unfortunately often the sad part, when “Bangkas” are destroyed by storms or typhoons.

The strong waves of the sea break the “Bangkas” in thousands of pieces and the current of the sea eventually washes parts of the destroyed “Bangkas” on the shores and beaches.

“Bangkas” are often painted colorfully, and almost all of them have individual names. Each “Bangka” has its own character and individuality.

Walking along the beaches and shores, I was touched by the many colorful wooden parts of broken “Bangkas, I started to collect the colorful pieces. I had in mind to bring the broken “Bangkas” alive again, in a different way, and create not only a beautiful Art Work, put also to pay tribute to the Phillippine fisherman.

The carefully collected wooden parts are washed and cleaned from the sand and other elements of the sea, but never repainted or restored. All the pieces are carefully kept natural as discovered and collected on many beaches and shores. Selectively, the pieces have been put together in different kinds of collages and colors to bring the “Bangka” alive again, in a very different form and impression—contributing homage to the fisher folks of the Philippines.

About the Artist

JURG CASSERINI was born in 1950 in Thun, Switzerland, where his father, a well-known lithograph, was heading the “Stein- and Offsetdruckerei Casserini & Sohn” (Printing and Lithography Company). After his education, he joined the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs. In over 42 years, Casserini has been working in 16 countries at the Swiss Embassies, Foreign Interest Sections, and Consulate Generals. During his professional life, he also acts as a Cultural Attache and organized a number of Art Exhibition and numerous cultural events. Manila was his last posting with the Swiss DFA. After his retirement in the Philippines in December 2013, his passion for art led him to a new adventurous path. Casserini asked himself “why shouldn’t I work on something different?”. As an autodidact influenced by some of the best-known Swiss and foreign artists at a very young age, Gasserini developed his sense for forms and colors. The ability and willingness to endeavor new options beyond traditional boundaries guided him to create works of art using different materials. This was the hour of birth of a unique composition of slag–a product of copper smelting; broken “bangka” pieces assemblage; driftwood arts; and soon—abstract arts on canvas using acrylic paints.

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