Love is the hammer, you be the nails (Photo by Danica Cervantes)

I‘m back at the keyboard now, with the future on the brain. I’m thinking that truly imaginative people do not consider it torture to have to “think differently”—mainly because it is “part of the package” of being creative to have everything come out fresh or different. But do you know what it’s like to have mental block? It’s like having trouble retrieving information from your very own memory banks. Well, what if the images that comprise your body of work, and the ideas embedded in them, seem so ordinary? What if your work is starting to look like mere copies, or “gaya” of some magazine layout, or is obviously “inspired” by someone else’s online portfolio? Isn’t that a form of mental block? A mind that strives to function should be used to unleash inspiration.

I can still recall a day when late National Artist, Jerry Elizalde-Navarro, was chatting with me over cocktails at the opening of one of his shows. I had asked him for his interpretation of the word “imagining,” and he said, quote, “An artist must not paint pictures of flowers all his life – he has to move on and create continuously.”

Moving on from the past to the cusp of the future where we now stand, I find that there are, in fact, brave young image-makers, who are ready, not just to move on, but to soar. Take Danica Cervantes, for instance, with her image of “Love is the hammer, you be the nails.” Cervantes has clearly taken a bold step away from the usual “safe” and “glossy photography.” Producing out of a powerful imagination like hers takes a lot of preparation – her imagination builds up not just in the mind but in the heart, until it is sealed into an image which future viewers judge according to its mass acceptability. I don’t think fine art photography is only for intellectuals; you must be ready to open your mind.

“Meron pa bang hindi pa nagagawa sa potograpiya?”

There are thousands of Filipino photographers to date, uploading around 20 billions of photographic images, all competing for our attention. There are a lot of young photographers out there who get a successful jumpstart, but a lot of them tire quickly. Even veterans aren’t spared from the mass commercialism of photography.

I find a refreshing break from this sad trend in Sarah Tan’s photograph, “ Inflorescence” where I see images void of obvious meaning, but which take you to another level of thinking – which makes me conclude that using a popular camera brand has absolutely nothing to do with the composing of a mind frame. That is something built-in that one must constantly flex and try by fire. Zera Dionisio is one such “constant flexer,” as she combines her ability to capture images and stir her viewers’ tactile sense with images such as an egg and a spoon wrapped in total darkness. Her colleague, Earl Choa, shares this ability to oscillate within one’s dreams, as can be seen in his image of what looks like the worm’s eye-view of a nautilus – this may also be interpreted as the aperture of the mind, which controls the entry of the light that allows those who dare to take those necessary steps toward true imagining.

Cervantes, Tan, Dionisio, and Choa joined 15 of their peers yesterday, December 21, at the opening of their group exhibition titled “f20” at GalerieOne on Pasong Tamo in Makati. Together they make up the first ever batch of graduates from the De La Salle University – College of Saint Benilde (DLSU-CSB) AB Photography course. A first in this country, CSB’s three-year photography degree tackles photography as an art, and this writer is one of their lecturers on the subject of Gallery Exhibition.

The “f20” as an exhibit title holds a lot of significance for me – while it can stand for those whom I believe could easily belong to the “future 20” of Philippine photography, I also think the “f” can stand for “flight.” I’m talking about the first, official flight of these young artists into the world of art photography and gallery exhibition, and I am quite confident that they will continue to fly higher and farther in the years to come.

Take a peek into the fertile minds of Mau Aguasin, Resa Calimon, Danica Cervantes, Chariss Cheng, Earl Choa, Zachary Datu, Maya Din, Zera Dionisio, Feliciano Farrales, Giannina Ferrera, Pam Maloles, Micah Masahiro, Greg Mayo, Ishka Nolasco, Jaime Rapi, Jr., Catherine So, Sarah Tan, and D.Tanhuan – as they aim for the future at GalerieOne until January 9, 2010.

Rossano Capili (50), signing his name professionally as Rosscapili, is an artist who is a painter, photographer, graphic designer, and digital fine art printmaker, who has held a total of 35 solo exhibitions in these disciplines here and abroad. He is an Executive Council of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (Office of The President) National Committee on Visual Arts; president and creative director of OneWorkshop,Inc. (www.owg.cc, www.studiorosscapili.com).

Rosscapili conducts workshops and lectures here and abroad on photography and art-making in the present day. He is also a lecturer of the AB Photography class at the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde and TUP Fine Arts; Ani ng Sining Presidential Awardee 2009; Anvil Gold Awardee 2008 and 2009; Quill Awardee 2009 and PATA Gold Awardee 2008 on Travel Photojournalism in Hyderabad India; e-mail rosscapili@yahoo.com.