| Carlo Gabuco (b. 1981) received a BFA in Painting from the Philippine Women’s University. He is both a street photographer and painter. His solo exhibitions for both painting and photography include: Subdued, Now Gallery, Manila, Philippines, 2011; Quagmire, The Artesan Gallery + Studio, Singapore, 2011; Stranger, House of Matahati (HOM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2010; Post Mortem, Finale Art File, Manila 2009 and Point-Blank, The Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila, 2008. Recent group shows include: Freshly Brewed, Republikha Gallery, Philippines, 2011; We Was There, Yuchengco Museum, Manila, 2011; Art Triangle, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, 2010; Plastic Syndrome, Art Space Plastic, Incheon, South Korea, 2009 and Tenggara: Contemporary Paintings from Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines, Liverpool, UK, 2008.
He has participated in artist residencies in Singapore, Malaysia and Korea and was a Finalist for the Philippine Art Award in 2006.
Therefore after the sentence ending 'makeshift house. Insert: Although poor, a large family is nevertheless a source of happiness and indicative of God’s blessing.
Exhibition Note:
Carlo Gabuco’s interests lie in the observation of human behaviour in public places. As a street photographer he wanders through cities and towns in the Philippines capturing the aesthetic strength of otherwise ordinary objects, places and people. Dela Cruz is a specific photo essay project, centring on a family living in a slum area of Manila. The title, meaning ‘the cross’, comments on the relationship between the politics of religion and its impact on poverty. Currently there is great debate in the country over the Reproductive Health bills, or RH Bill, that aims to give universal access and education on birth control and maternal care. There is contentious opposition, especially by the Catholic Church against the distribution of family planning devices such as condoms, birth control pills and IUDs, to prevent procreation which goes against the views of God and Church. However, endemic poverty is a continuing issue in the Philippines not least because of the high birth rates amongst poor families. Gabuco juxtaposes an image from a Catholic festival with that of a family made up of a mother and father, their thirteen children and their grand children who all live in a very small makeshift house. Although poor, for them, a large family is nevertheless a source of happiness and indicative of God’s blessing.
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