In December 2017, I got invited to exhibit some of my works at District Gallery, with a group show titled GROUND ZERO. The group show featured works from artists of various media, curated under the notions of escape from absurdity, embracing stillness and discovering new perspectives. What follows is the statement of my work (and my bio).
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
In 2014, an estimated 1.4 billion images are uploaded on the internet every single day. Instagram, today, shares 95 million photos and videos daily. Images are in oversupply more than ever, and society reacted with frenzied consumption. While technology has allowed us to “like” visual art with a tap, it has also enabled us to appreciate without contemplation, to award value without pause.
Photographs from my archives spanning almost a decade were reused and repurposed as a response to the oversupply of images. By juxtaposing one photograph with another, I attempted to give birth to a “third” image in the viewers’ mind—a synthesis that is invisible, poignant, intangible, palpable. Much like the “Kuleshov effect”, the viewer is forced to give meaning to the images devoid of context.
THIS PHOTO: Untitled 2 (2017) Print on wood, archival paper 7” x 10.5
Kevin Nieves is an architect based in Manila. His work in photography reflects his observations of form and materiality. He examines ways of seeing beyond the “objectivity” of the subjects, reducing images into colors, geometries, and patterns. This reductionist ideology is apparent in his other works in architecture and sequential art.
Nieves actively participates in the photographic community primarily through social media. He is the a co-founder and partner of Headroom, an architectural design studio in Manila.
kibinibis 