Kaff-eine: Raising Awareness for the Forgotten
Street-artist Kaff-eine is using the power of art and community to create artworks that inspire and motivate the disadvantaged with an evocative new exhibition.
Her recent trip to the city of Manila in the Philippines has seen her collaborate with a group of artists unknown to the world, yet whose participation in her most recent exhibition were a must.
The exhibition is entitled Phoenix, and presents a series of artworks that has seen Kaff-eine collaborate with more than 100 Filipino residents of slum communities aged from three to 35. She worked out of Baseco and Happyland, Manila’s two most impoverished dumpsite communities that see many residents residing in tents or shanties.
Kaff-eine’s inspiration behind the exhibition comes from her first visit a few years ago, where she witnessed slum residents making an honest living from the city’s garbage dumps, scavenging wood to burn for charcoal, picking through the garbage and creating unique products from waste. Kaff-eine’s affinity to help through the power of art has also seen her, and many enthusiastic young helpers painting a range of murals in the Philippines. This was through an NGO that aims to help prevent abuse and exploitation of the children in the Philippines.
The artworks presented in Phoenix are charcoal-based, and were created with the residents, then completed in Kaff-eine’s studio. The works include mixed-media portraits of children, capturing their version of everyday life.
Along with these pieces are photographs documenting moments and scenes from the project by Geloy Concepcion, a Manila-born photographer. Born in Pandacan, Manila, Concepcion began as a street-artist, where he had the opportunity to meet the people of slums. Seeing that they had stories of their own to share, he turned to photography, feeling that he could express and share their stories with the photographic medium.
Geric Cruz filmed the entire process, creating a mini-documentary. Also born and based in Manila, and with a string of prestigious awards to his name, Cruz’s film element captured the intimate art-making process between Kaff-eine, and the residents.
Phoenix aims to tell the stories for those forgotten and lost in the mire of a life hard done by, living well below the poverty line and often ignored amidst a flurry of socio-cultural complications and economic difficulties. Proceeds from the sales of these collaborative pieces will be donated to NGO’s that are actively helping to improve the lives of these people.
“We’re hoping that Phoenix, which is part of a series of ongoing art and social change projects, will engage a wide audience, disrupt perceptions and share with viewers the creativity, resilience and spirit of the people living in Manila’s literal waste lands,” said Kaff-eine.
Phoenix will be presented from Friday 6 – Sunday 15 November at James Makin Gallery in Melbourne, Australia.
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