SAM Curatorial
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Located in Tanay, Rizal, in the Philippines, the Tinipak River is known for its clear waters and large white, marbled rocks. It is important to the local Dumagat-Remontado indigenous peoples, who see the river as a source of sustenance that is integral to their livelihoods. However, the government plans to build a dam further upstream, which will effectively erase the river from the map and threaten their way of life.
With this precarity in mind, imprint of an imprint of an imprint presents a sonic and visual rendition of the Tinipak River. Field recordings of the river’s waters and surrounding wildlife, such as birds and cicadas, have been incorporated to form what the artist describes as a sound sculpture. With its ever-morphing landscape, the river is an uncontainable living entity. Instead of creating static indexical connections between the river and its visual representations, frottage pieces of the river’s giant rock formations were made collaboratively with a group of Dumagat-Remontados youth. These rock formations are synonymous with the river itself as “Tinipak” means chipped off or chopped up (tipak-tipak) in Tagalog. The 500 textural rubbings in this video trace the river’s contours at this present moment.
All rivers flow into the sea. While the previous two music video commissions in the Sea Chanty Project series foreground the cosmological and the proletariat respectively, imprint of an imprint of an imprint emphasises the cyclical interconnectedness of ecology and community. As the concluding commission in this series, this work brings the three-part initiative full circle.
About the Artist
Vien Valencia began as a painter, but has expanded his practice to video, photography, installation, and process-oriented community art projects. His work is located at the intersection between community, process, and anthropology. He examines and comments on the condition of humanity, with themes such as displacement, surveillance, and occupation. Realising a form of resistance opposed to institutions and oppressive systems of society, Valencia’s artistic practice often involves collaboration with local communities through performative workshops, and nomadic and in situ exhibitions.
Drawing from his personal encounters and the collective struggles of humanity, Valencia’s collaborative and experimental approach not only democratizes the artistic process but also fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment within the community, blurring the lines between the artist and the audience, allowing for deeper, inclusive conversations.
Valencia works on various alternative archive and curatorial projects like in Meycauayan Bulacan, run with fisherfolk communities and Tinipak River Archive (2023) in Tanay, Rizal run with members of the Dumagat-Remontado indigenous group.
About Lost & Found: Sea Chanty Project
Lost & Found: Sea Chanty Project is the first pillar of Lost & Found, a multi-phased curatorial project exploring the significance of archival documentation and records through artistic practices. By studying how artists collect what seems uncollectable, assemble that which resists assembly, and present that which defies visibility, Lost & Found engages with questions concerning the authoritative voice of archives and history.
The Sea Chanty Project seeks to breathe new life into traditional work songs from sea regions through a contemporary interpretations showcased in a music. Collaborations between musicians, ethnomusicologists and visual artists will result in a unique production that explores the connections between sea and labour. By connecting the rhythm of the waves and music, the project will provide a fresh perspective on the relationship between human and the sea.
The commissioned videos will be streamed and released online for public viewing.
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