Artist Feature: E Bee Bantug

My art practice has become a daily meditation triggered by how I see light and its movement in the ether and on light-sensitive surfaces, whether outdoors in nature or interior spaces. I’ve always been drawn to philosophies and nature even when I lived in bustling urban cities in Asia, Europe and, now, America. Both my consciousness and relationship with nature has wildly expanded outward, upward and most unexpectedly, inward toward what I would call a veritably philosophical and empirical experience of quantum reality made manifest by the act of making my art.

Aesthetically and conceptually, I cast out realism totally from my thought and creative process; instead, I consciously focus on penetrating beyond surface realities. Technically, I deliberately use my camera as a painter’s brush, aiming to push and bridge the edges between photography and the other visual arts of painting, drawing, etching.

Without any plan for structure nor theme, I love experimenting; letting my inner vision and subconscious take over as I tease out shapes, unexpected vantage points and perspectives of a given time space. In this manner, somehow, I create unrepeatable images that seem to tap into myriad energies metaphysically omnipresent and, surprisingly, into what seems to be today’s collective consciousness. The other breakthrough is that later I neither add any strokes nor filters in the darkroom or computer; each image is complete, and a vision fulfilled at that very moment.  

Ultimately, my art is a challenge for myself to express and articulate astounding breakthroughs behind the proverbial veil and an open invitation for viewers to enjoy these glimpses. Each imagery is a visual presence; a communion with the abundantly rich reality and vital essence rarely accessible, vaguely perceptible, yet that which at every moment infinitely surround our busy lives.

My advise to artists beginning their careers would be to ‘know thyself’. Get as close and honest as you can with yourself. Truly dig deep to find your voice. And as you do, be brave; continue to experiment and challenge yourself. Let your spirit and inner vision shine. Only then will you come to articulate renderings and expressions of your evolving soul.

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