Fresh from doing an art walk, and admiring how times have changed in terms of art now being very accessible to the public, I came across another artwork that’s worth checking out. See, an old friend from work invited me to SM Aura recently to catch up and while strolling, I saw a signage near the escalator that read “Astreopora: an art, light and music installation by Leeroy New.” It was the mall’s very own creative gimik in celebration of the Christmas holiday season which was being held at the Sky Park. I’ve never been to SM Aura’s Sky Park until that day, so naturally, I was a curious girl.
Let me show you what I saw when my friend and I went up to Sky Park:
Leeroy New is a contemporary Filipino fine artist best known for being one of the designers who worked on the muscle dress worn by Lady Gaga in her video Marry the Night. However, even before that time, he’s been making waves in the fine arts industry already. He exhibited his work in Singapore Biennale in 2008 and Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale in 2009. He also showcased some of his works during the 2010 Philippine Fashion Week.
From what I’ve learned, Astreopora is an extension of his current practice. Leeroy New creates environments through interventions on existing structures found in the urban landscape. New believing that art should be opened to the public and not kept enclosed in art galleries has displayed his large-scale artworks in  various terrains all over the Philippines. You may have seen some of his alien life forms such as a post-apocalyptic sculpture park in the sand dunes of Paoay, an Atlantean installation on the shores of Boracay, to the Balete installation series at Bonifacio Global City.
The latest, of course, is Astreopora. Very colorful right? Pretty amazing to look at. But what makes it even more interesting? They’re all made from plastic materials.
Plastic hose
Plastic cups – the kind you use for halo-halo
Plastic food cover and plastic funnel
The works of this avant garde artist can be described as otherworldly, though he merely magnifies the sublime and the bizarre in nature. He takes inspiration from organic environments and lifeforms, in spite of a lifelong immersion in Manila’s urban jungle.
His latest installation in SM Aura Sky Park is entitled Astreopora because it’s a reminder that artists often take their lead from nature’s bounty of strange yet ordinary forms. It mirrors man’s perennial longing to reconnect with the natural, while constantly reshaping his own environment.
Corals on the Skyline takes one step further in redefining the vastness of man’s creative possibilities amidst nature’s infinite bounty. This beautiful sight of aquatic forms permeating Taguig business district’s skyline highlights the Philippines as a center of marine biodiversity on the planet. It reconciles urbanity with the persistence of fertile, pre-industrial environs.Â
Nothing says Christmas than festive decors right? Well this is definitely a unique one! The exhibit, which runs every 30 minutes starting 6PM, will be open to the public until January 10, 2016. Do visit this Instagram-worthy art, lights and music installation with your friends and loved ones. I’m sure you’ll find it amazing.
To know more about Leeroy New, visit his website at www.leeroynew.com or Facebook at www.facebook.com/LeeroyNewPage.
Astreopora: Art, Light and Music Installation
5th Flr Sky Park, SM Aura Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
