As part of its Artist’s Rooms initiative, Jameel Arts Centre is showcasing art pieces by Filipino multi-disciplinary artist Augustine Paredes. Curated by Dawn Ross, the exhibition, which will run through 24 November 2024, draws on Paredes’s migrant experience, delving into themes of identity, familial connections, and the legacy of colonialism.
While Paredes initially focused on photography, his practice has evolved to include painting, installation, and poetry, embracing a more process-oriented approach that emphasises the inherent qualities and autonomy of his materials. This shift has enabled him to reconnect with his personal history and memories while confronting the hardships and violence associated with migration.
The centrepiece of the exhibition, Mother (2022), is a photographic portrait of the artist’s mother, Marife, a figure symbolising home and identity. Other artworks on display include Lamentations (2024), a trio of interconnected textile pieces made from fabrics sourced across Southeast Asia, which carry the cultural echoes of Paredes’s homeland and his travels. Created using traditional Filipino weaving techniques such as inabel from Ilocos Norte and the colonial-influenced callado, these pieces reflect historical layers within the artist’s work. This is further enriched by his practice of burning textiles, where acetone is applied, and the fabrics are set alight, allowing the flames to alter them unpredictably but with intent, resulting in transformative creations.
About the artist
Augustine Paredes (b. 1994, Cagayan De Oro, Philippines) divides his time between Frankfurt am Main (Germany) and Dubai. He obtained a BA in Mass Communication (2014) from Ateneo de Davao University (Philippines) and completed his fine arts studies at Städelschule Academy of Fine Arts in Frankfurt in 2023.
Paredes’s work has appeared in many exhibitions, such as Yearning The Sun to Fall (solo) (Fffriedrich, Frankfurt, 2023); Fotomoto 21: Portraits (Orange Project, Bacolod City, Philippines, 2021); No Place Like Home (Gulf Photo Plus, Dubai, 2018); and others. Paredes’s commissions include projects for the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, Goethe Institut, and the Royal Commission of AlUla.
The artist has taken part in several residencies and fellowships, including MMCA Goyang Residency (South Korea, 2024), Salama Bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship Cohort 8 (UAE, 2021), and International Summer School of Photography (Latvia, 2018), among others.
Beyond his visual art, Paredes is an author and independent publisher of several art and poetry books, including Conversations at the End of the Universe (2020), The Bitter Taste of Sweetness (2022), and Slow Disco (2024). He also works as a commercial photographer, specialising in fashion, portraits, and lifestyle, and is represented by the Dubai-based agency Seeing Things.
For more details about Artist’s Rooms: Augustine Paredes, please go to the official web page of the exhibition.
Additionally, you might find interest in Fragility and Resilience, a solo show by Bangladeshi artist Ayesha Sultana.
