The ablum of Antimemory Antiarchive by Buen Calubayan records 17 pieces from the exhibition, including oil paintings and paper assemblages.
In Antimemory Antiarchive, Buen presents his latest exploration of the process of seeing and interpretation. The artist places, next to selected paintings, items that informed his creative process, such as drafts, archival photos and other graphic materials. By doing so, the artist presents the completed painting in a deconstructive manner and allows the audience to interpret the paintings based from a multitude of perspectives.
Buen’s artworks contain a lot of personal and historical significance. The artist has attempted to explore and reconstruct the Filipino identity by collecting what, at first glance, can be considered mundane objects. By observing a growing archive of such objects, the artist explores and interprets the changing national identity throughout the turmoil in recent centuries. Buen’s works in Antimemory Antiarchive evoke the desire to gain a panoramic view, to gather obsessively in order to obtain a semblance of integrity, and to imagine progress as a holistic undertaking.
