Ordo ab Chao from a Bouquet of Flowers
Normally, artists aim for an exhibition that features a specific series, as the whole is expected to have cohesion, at least visually and thematically. Dan Duran (DVRAN) stays true to himself by opting for his own path in fulfilling the works for his exhibition “Whatever Purifies You is the Right Path.” One at a time, he worked intuitively trying to find answers to questions that he could not express, but knew the point of resolution.
This purported “chaos” occurs under Duran’s penchant for detail and precision. Many of the paintings took countless layers to reach the surface image. Prior to this exhibition, several works have been made with images also seen in this set. Nowadays it seems frowned upon to have duplicates or reworkings of paintings, but it might be useful to note that Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Caravaggio, and quite famously Claude Monet (he painted the facade of the Rouen Cathedral thirty times) made several versions of the same subject. The artist is never satisfied until there is satisfaction.
The exhibition takes two main trajectories, both taking off from a fascination with found photographs. Firstly, archival photographs figure in a series of works that can be seen as Filipiniana in theme. HIstorical notions of identity are layered through multiple attempts to reconstruct the image, largely through deconstruction. Paintings are made, then cut up, then stuck or sewn back. Some survive as abstracted shapes. Duran took the painstaking effort to secure permissions for these images, going so far as to determine the photographers and models in them — most of them untraceable, as well as contacting institutional archives. Some went unanswered, although the Maryknoll Mission Institute simply told him that it was ok.
A second suite of works, as one would think based on subject matter, is what seems to be a pinterest-informed selection of queer moments. Mostly lost in what can be seen as moments of tenderness, what is obvious is a cover of foliage — the artist’s own intervention. Whether it is a reference to the lush garden in his own house or a different, nuanced suggestion, the details may hold more about the work than its figurative central point.
Of particular note is a portrait of National Artist for Film Nora Aunor, and her erstwhile love team partner Tirso Cruz III. Popularly known as “Guy and Pip” among the masses of the early 70s, it was revealed that she had a functioning crush on a female co-star and colleague, Vilma Santos. Aunor waited hours in front of a hotel Santos was staying in just to hand her flowers. The two starred in “T-Bird at Ako” — a film acknowledged as one of the earliest portrayals of queer themes in the country, especially at a time of heightened censorship in the 80s. It seems random, but the exhibition already embraces that.
True to what can be called a stream of consciousness, the exhibition is occasionally punctuated — a comma, a question mark — by works with subjects that seem to have appeared out of thin air amidst the rest. A Korean bowling meme, an eerie forest scene, unbothered passengers on an overloaded trike, as much as they are conventionally out of place, they are very much justified as part of the process of the entire exhibition. With this process he determined that although he can produce one particular series, it would not be true to his intentions. Ten years since he wanted to pursue visual arts, what appears as a group show is exactly how he resolved his expression.
Taking from the thirteenth century Muslim poet Rumi’s oeuvre, the title of the exhibition in full reads: “whatever purifies you is the right path, I will not try to define it.” Between archival and historical interventions, social curation and identity layers, Dan Duran takes a brave, bold step in the right direction to produce an exhibition that is as it unfolded in his mind. Any one who claims confusion simply needs to seek the path that purifies.
Koki Lxx
Dan Duran (stylized as DAN DVRAN) is a Filipino visual artist and fashion designer from Negros Oriental, Philippines.
After graduating with a degree in Mass Communication from Silliman university in 2008, he received a full scholarship to study at the School of Fashion and the Arts. In 2011, he received the Preview Emerging Fashion Talent Award from Preview Magazine, and was the silver medalist in the Balintawak category of the inaugural Ternocon in 2018.
Simply a born creative, he took the self-taught path in the visual arts, experimenting and making works in various mediums such as oil, acrylic, and collage — learning from the best teacher: experience. He combines this with couturier techniques such as sewing and pattern cutting to produce art that is purely his own.
Duran lives in Siaton, Negros Oriental and works around Negros Island and the Visayas.
Ordo ab Chao from a Bouquet of Flowers
Normally, artists aim for an exhibition that features a specific series, as the whole is expected to have cohesion, at least visually and thematically. Dan Duran (DVRAN) stays true to himself by opting for his own path in fulfilling the works for his exhibition “Whatever Purifies You is the Right Path.” One at a time, he worked intuitively trying to find answers to questions that he could not express, but knew the point of resolution.
This purported “chaos” occurs under Duran’s penchant for detail and precision. Many of the paintings took countless layers to reach the surface image. Prior to this exhibition, several works have been made with images also seen in this set. Nowadays it seems frowned upon to have duplicates or reworkings of paintings, but it might be useful to note that Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Caravaggio, and quite famously Claude Monet (he painted the facade of the Rouen Cathedral thirty times) made several versions of the same subject. The artist is never satisfied until there is satisfaction.
The exhibition takes two main trajectories, both taking off from a fascination with found photographs. Firstly, archival photographs figure in a series of works that can be seen as Filipiniana in theme. HIstorical notions of identity are layered through multiple attempts to reconstruct the image, largely through deconstruction. Paintings are made, then cut up, then stuck or sewn back. Some survive as abstracted shapes. Duran took the painstaking effort to secure permissions for these images, going so far as to determine the photographers and models in them — most of them untraceable, as well as contacting institutional archives. Some went unanswered, although the Maryknoll Mission Institute simply told him that it was ok.
A second suite of works, as one would think based on subject matter, is what seems to be a pinterest-informed selection of queer moments. Mostly lost in what can be seen as moments of tenderness, what is obvious is a cover of foliage — the artist’s own intervention. Whether it is a reference to the lush garden in his own house or a different, nuanced suggestion, the details may hold more about the work than its figurative central point.
Of particular note is a portrait of National Artist for Film Nora Aunor, and her erstwhile love team partner Tirso Cruz III. Popularly known as “Guy and Pip” among the masses of the early 70s, it was revealed that she had a functioning crush on a female co-star and colleague, Vilma Santos. Aunor waited hours in front of a hotel Santos was staying in just to hand her flowers. The two starred in “T-Bird at Ako” — a film acknowledged as one of the earliest portrayals of queer themes in the country, especially at a time of heightened censorship in the 80s. It seems random, but the exhibition already embraces that.
True to what can be called a stream of consciousness, the exhibition is occasionally punctuated — a comma, a question mark — by works with subjects that seem to have appeared out of thin air amidst the rest. A Korean bowling meme, an eerie forest scene, unbothered passengers on an overloaded trike, as much as they are conventionally out of place, they are very much justified as part of the process of the entire exhibition. With this process he determined that although he can produce one particular series, it would not be true to his intentions. Ten years since he wanted to pursue visual arts, what appears as a group show is exactly how he resolved his expression.
Taking from the thirteenth century Muslim poet Rumi’s oeuvre, the title of the exhibition in full reads: “whatever purifies you is the right path, I will not try to define it.” Between archival and historical interventions, social curation and identity layers, Dan Duran takes a brave, bold step in the right direction to produce an exhibition that is as it unfolded in his mind. Any one who claims confusion simply needs to seek the path that purifies.
Koki Lxx
Dan Duran (stylized as DAN DVRAN) is a Filipino visual artist and fashion designer from Negros Oriental, Philippines.
After graduating with a degree in Mass Communication from Silliman university in 2008, he received a full scholarship to study at the School of Fashion and the Arts. In 2011, he received the Preview Emerging Fashion Talent Award from Preview Magazine, and was the silver medalist in the Balintawak category of the inaugural Ternocon in 2018.
Simply a born creative, he took the self-taught path in the visual arts, experimenting and making works in various mediums such as oil, acrylic, and collage — learning from the best teacher: experience. He combines this with couturier techniques such as sewing and pattern cutting to produce art that is purely his own.
Duran lives in Siaton, Negros Oriental and works around Negros Island and the Visayas.
