HEAVEN AND EARTH TO PEACE BEGUILE

FEATURING JEM MAGBANUA

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A SNOW GLOBE; that’s what I would call Jem’s works. For each time you look at it, it would not be the same. Yet the muted color palette and thoughtful strokes keeps it grounded to its enclosed sphere. 

Welcome to Jem’s world; one that is calm, collected and controlled. 

To enter this world, there are several steps to follow. Firstly, the earthy tones utilized in this fictional wonderland set a universal mood of peace and serenity. Yes, you are safe. Next, the poetics of landscapes portrayed with immaculate care for detail invites you into its vast virgin wilderness. The spaciousness of this flat and static landscape makes it extremely comforting. It urges you to stay in this clutter-free world. Yes, you will explore. Finally, you realize how similar this place is from where you’ve come from, only better. The untainted outlook filled with organic shapes, inconspicuously comes alive as you enter. Yes, this might just be real. 

Made in the Philippines, exported to Singapore, Jem is a fresh-graduate of LASALLE College of the Arts with a degree in BA Fine Arts. Her landscape illustrations are the conclusions she have drawn through the inquiry of “looking out”. The very act of “looking out” has piqued her interest to investigate windows. She is interested in investigating both the formal structure and the metaphorical complexities involved. 

The window summons nostalgic sensations about one’s environment and also frame the anonymous existence of the city dweller.

She constantly grapples between being in control and letting chance perform its own magic. Thus, this thoughtful and tireless effort in the creation process is translated into her works. The noticeable presence of her creative struggle — to tell or not to tell, to be in control or to be out of control — adds on feelings of affection to this fictional world. 

“CLASSICAL ART STILL SERVES AS MY BEACON OF LIGHT.”

At present, Jem is a freelance illustrator, taking on projects as they occur. She owns an online store and is active in collaborating with illustrators from various parts of the world. In an ideal world, she would lead a nomad’s life, traversing from one place to the next. However, she would like to take time to think and develop her practice at her own pace. In this spell-binding journey as a visual artist, she has learnt to embrace the unknown, and appreciate the freedom of not being confined to one field of expertise. 

QUOTING ONE OF HER FAVORITE WRITERS, REBECCA SOLNIT: I AM A PROFESSIONAL AMATEUR… WITH THAT, YOU CAN RUN ANYWHERE AND DO ANYTHING.

“I AM A PROFESSIONAL AMATEUR… WITH THAT, YOU CAN RUN ANYWHERE AND DO ANYTHING.”