BY SHERMA E. BENOSA

Silence descends upon the gallery as each of the paintings hanging on the walls demand a second look and a careful study from the viewers.

It’s not that the artworks are too complicated or too abstract that they are too difficult to interpret; it’s just that they offer multiple meanings and interpretations that the viewers couldn’t decide at once what each work might mean.

This is the effect artists Ronald Caringal and Kadin Tiu had hoped to have on the viewers of their first two-man show together: for the viewers to momentarily pause as they view the artworks in order to scrutinize them, reflect on them, recognize their different interpretations, and debate within themselves exactly which of these interpretations they are actually seeing. In Kadin Tiu’s “It Feels Like a Moment I’ve Lived a Thousand Times Before,” for instance, one cannot readily say whether or not the child has just closed the door, or he is about to open it. Is he hesitating to turn the knob and push open the door, afraid of what he might see inside, or is he sad that he had to close it and leave everything behind?

Dubbed Silence of Meaning, the duo’s exhibit is ripe with possibilities as they endeavor to silence viewers’ preconceptions in order for their works’ meanings to come to the fore.

“Silence of Meaning is about peoples’ perception of the things they see. For example, they see a chair, and immediately they label it as a chair because they know how a chair looks and what its functions are.

But that process hinders the actual viewing of the chair; you don’t see the object fully because you already know it as a chair. The experience of viewing is thus cut,” quips Caringal, adding that the exhibit hopes for the viewers to take some time to consider what they are seeing on the canvas and figure out what each of the art work might mean. “The object they are viewing could just be a person, or a chair, but there may be aspects that they thought they already knew because they knew the objects in view, but in reality, they have not even perceived the entirety of what they are seeing.”

Tiu, self-trained photographer who studied painting under Caringal, agrees. “Seeing is not perceiving. It is not the same as understanding what an object is for, why it is there, why it looks that way. To understand meaning, one does not only need to use the sense of sight but also to truly become conscious of what is being viewed. It is only then that one gets to have a clear idea of the meaning of what he is viewing,” she says.

Self-trained

Extremely talented, Caringal and Tiu are among the young artists to watch out for. Caringal, who started toying with brushes just a little over eight years ago, has already made ripples in the art scene. The owner and director of The Cubicle Art Gallery, he is known for his art technique of manual multiple glazing—a technique that requires not only adroitness with the brushes but also a large supply of patience. Thus far, he has held five successful solo exhibits, one of which was mounted in Singapore. He has also been included in numerous group exhibits in various art galleries.

Caringal is also remarkable for his verbal wit, which he often utilizes to enhance his artworks, or to simply nail their essence. In his painting “Stay,” which features a man and a woman presented like magazine cut-outs, the man says “Please Stay,” to which the woman replies: “I will. You Go.” The painting was just one of Caringal’s amusing works included in his third solo exhibit, Commitment Re-Issues.

Tiu, on the other hand, was already a self-trained photographer—and a good one at that—when she decided to try her hand at painting. Under Caringal’s mentorship, she beautifully translated into painting the breathtaking collection she first created through her lenses. In her first solo exhibit, Becoming, she showcased her exceptional talent with both the camera and the brush. “The abstract/surreal quality within each of my work examines the capacity of our eyes to change the way we look at something and the capability of the object to transform within the act of seeing. It also seeks to explore the duality of the object: what is perceived as real and what is perceived as abstracted, by becoming,” she says of her first solo exhibit.

As their participation in the 18th anniversary celebration of The Metro Gallery where they were previously featured in a group exhibit titled 18 x 24, Caringal and Tiu team up via their Silence of Meaning exhibit which opens today and will be on view until December 4.

For details, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call Chittyrene Cometa at 0917-8115399.