THE TRUTH ABOUT ONIONS
“Life is like an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time, and Sometimes you weep.”
– Carl Sandburg
Hersley-Ven Casero is a street photographer and visual artist seasoned by the saline hues and aromas of his hometown of Dumaguete in the island of Negros. For a creative mind, nothing beats the rich and colorful innocence of a coastal city, compact enough to wander afoot and gentle enough to embrace as if it were the last paradise on earth.
In this exuberant playground, Casero captures the shapes and shadows of its people. His subject of predilection are children whose expressions and bodily gestures transport the viewer to a moment of effortless abandon. Picture-poems appear during his photowalks, similar to poet Sandburg’s social narrative of Mrs. Giovannitti in Onion Days (1916).
From a collection of photographs entitled “All In Good Time,” Paligid and Freefall show Casero’s instinctive control over form and atmospheric circumstances. Onion Kids shows a profound understanding of the human condition. It is shot in the aftermath of the pandemic in a most fortuitous manner that frames the unwavering determination of mankind to survive.
Hersley-Ven Casero is a multidisciplinary visual artist, street and documentary
photographer based in Dumaguete City, Philippines. He received his BSC in
Marketing and an Artist of the Year Award from Foundation University, and in
2018, the Negros Oriental Young Heroes Award in the field of Visual Arts. In
2019, Casero became the first Filipino to participate in the Chalk Hill Artist
Residency program based in California USA, after they awarded him one of
their limited spots as a sponsored artist.
Being born and raised in Dumaguete, the city has shaped Casero’s perspective
as a visual artist and is the stage for many of his paintings and photographs. His
works have been recognized and published in local, national and international
publications and exhibitions, including various cities around the USA, India,
Ukraine, UAE, Poland, Germany, Portugal, France, Cyprus and Italy.
Recently, he has earned several international awards and recognitions for his
photography, including Finalist by Street Photography International Awards
2022, Finalist by Miami Street Photography Awards 2022, Finalist by Eyeshot
Open Call 2022, 2nd Prize & Finalist by the Italian Street Photography Awards
2022, ‘Category Winner of the Year’ by Muse Photography Awards 2021 and
Silver Medal by Paris International Street Photography Awards 2020, to mention
a few.
Over the years, Casero has explored and experimented with a wide spectrum
of materials, subjects and concepts. He motivates others by collaborating
through art projects like “Ha?: The Laughing Boy Project” and promoting the
freedom of self expression through art.
