The simplest answer is always the best answer.
Azor Pazcoguin’s bread and butter is oil on canvas. This medium has allowed him to find a respectable living to establish his career and sustain his family.
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From being featured at BenCab Museum to receiving a nod from the Cultural Center of the Philippines for the 13 Artists Award, Pazcoguin has found multiple times.
But when his brother Alvin ran away from their United States home, any idea of security the family might have had was thrown out the window.
This period of tension would serve as inspiration for Pazcoguin’s latest exhibit, “Find Yourself.”
Lost and found
“This show is actually about my brother, who was going through something and left our house saying he wanted to figure out something. Sometimes you wonder about people, how they leave even though everything seems fine at home,” Pazcoguin tells Lifestyle Asia.
His first solo exhibition since “Noon” in early 2021, the show runs from April 20 to May 3.
It is open for viewing at White Walls Gallery in Makati every Tuesday to Saturday, from 1 to 6 p.m. Guests are advised to schedule an appointment first before visiting.
A total of 10 artworks feature in the exhibit. These were produced within the span of six months at the height of the crisis afflicting Pazcoguin’s brother.
“He was declared as a missing person. My sister found him in a state of near homelessness over this ‘figure out’ ordeal. After being found, he would leave again for the same reason,” Pazcoguin recalls.
He explained how the different artworks reflected his brother’s situation: “Mirage” was seeing things that weren’t there, “Unquote” was saying words that were inconsistent, “Displaced” was the lack of cohesion, “Obey” was the influence of technology, and “Bunker” was the temporary shelter.
Occam’s razor
The artist reassures readers that Alvin is now fine and set to be cleared as fit for work. He even wrote the accompanying note to the exhibit.
“Maybe people really do not need to work too hard or think too much and put themselves in bad situations in order to figure out what needs to be figured out. Maybe people just need internalizing because the answers to their questions and solutions to their problems can be found within themselves and seeking help from God,” Alvin writes.
Pazcoguin personally dedicated the exhibit to his brother as a constant reminder of his and their family’s unconditional love and support.
Photos by Ratziel San Juan
