Courtesy of Altro Mondo Creative Space
Leeroy New Ectoplastic Balete
Installation
Information
10/31(Sat) 10:00 - 11/1(Sun) 22:00
Roppongi Hills 66 Plaza
Free
Detail
Inspired by the Balete tree—long associated with mystery and folklore in the Philippines—this installation draws upon the unique ecology of a species known as the vampire or strangler fig. While the Balete is characterized by its habit of wrapping itself around existing trees as it grows, this work expresses that nature through the use of waste plastic coiled around living trunks and branches. The plastic entwined with the tree also serves as a symbol of the current reality in which plastic waste permeates the natural world and begins to encroach upon it. The installation creates a landscape that is both fantastical and unsettling. It presents a vivid contrast between aesthetic beauty and the disquieting reality of nature being slowly suffocated by human waste.
Map
Artist
Leeroy New
Leeroy New (b. 1986, General Santos City) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice manifests in large-scale immersive environments, costuming, collaborative performances and video works driven by concepts of world building, myth-making, and social change. His use of natural materials, found objects and assorted discards transformed into representations of a specific speculative future intersects Filipino contemporary life, pre-colonial mythology, and environmentalism. This eventually led to the creation of the Aliens of Manila project, an ongoing multi-platform collaborative series which documents “alien” bodies inhabiting Manila’s colorful yet often harsh streets as well as beyond its shores.
