"ORDEALS" by MICHELANGELO MAYO
Michelangelo Mayo
April 2024
Artist Statement
ordeals
Wise thinkers would say that the present state of a person’s entire being is forged by many endearments. Success in life requires many sacrifices, undergoing the most difficult tasks and tough decisions. It is likened to the many revisions to a story before getting to a final version. Some people are blessed with easy paths. Their roads are paved with the hardship of others, whether by their ancestors or by the labor of other people. While others cheat death, beating extreme odds with luck and favorable coincidences, to thrive later in life.
Everything is random. There is no simple secret formula in a universe that lacks rhythm and reason. Experienced people make intelligible decisions based on past failures or, better yet, on the errors of others. On the other hand, foolish people repeat the same mistakes; they perpetuate processes that never worked in the past. They let it linger in a cycle of perpetual futility. Between sorrow and happiness, between triumph and defeat, there lies a rite of passage. These are paths that make and break a person, the fulcrum that balances survival and defeat. These are the ordeals to break on through to a higher existence.
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In February 2023, Michelangelo Mayo visited Jordan and Israel. This journey was the artist’s first tour of the Holy Land. The experience was filled with lifelong curiosity and self-discovery. The regional tension has been in the spotlight of modern world events since the British mandate in the region ended after World War II. The firsthand experience of the artist with the everyday lives of its citizens has been surreal and profound. Militarization of their daily lives with teenagers carrying massive sub-machineguns on their way to training and the heightened alertness along the borders and much more inside the lands where Palestinians live could have been described as dystopian. The people in this land have lived this way for decades now.
In contrast, Jordan, a neighboring country who had normalized their diplomatic ties with Israel offers a more relaxed attitude. Historically, Jordan was the biblical frontier, the land across the river where John the Baptist preached, and where Jesus of Nazareth found his self amid the wilderness. In my experience, Jordan’s people hospitably welcomed visitors to show their culture and historical richness like Petra, Wadi Rum, and their Roman, Byzantine, and Arabic heritage.
The artist was inspired by this journey to draw his own conclusions about the plight of the Holy Land and the complex lives of the people who lived in that region. He has taken the historical context of how the Holy Land is significant to our current society and collective psyche—the history and culture of all the people of this region intertwined and conflicted with one another. The Holy Land has been a long story of faith, survival, displacement, wars, atrocities, and eventually hope that the cycle of human degeneration ends in peace.
Unfortunately, and with great sorrow, war broke between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023. The fragility of the region has become the blurry mirror that reflected the frailty of our own humanity. The imperfections brought about by these latest acts were like bad premonitions. They melted away all the best memories that were experienced during the artist’s journey. Michelangelo envisioned a return to that Holy Land, a pilgrimage that was a beautiful dream that came true and not another pipe dream.
Exhibition Artworks
holofernes' head in a basket of fishes
Mixed media
2023
8.5 in x 11.0 in
Holofornes lost his head to Judith. While he was slumped and drunk, the widow assassinated him according to The Book of Judith. The story exemplified resiliency by the occupied people under the grasp of a mighty invading army. Women of courage like Judith have been celebrated rarely. Victors and changers of the flow of history who were men usually dominated the narratives. Holofornes lost his heart before his head as Judith triumphed through subtle seduction. It was quite astonishing to ponder how an imposing general let an enemy woman into the camp. He was bewildered, inebriated, and then, murdered. Borrowing an excerpt from a famous movie, It was beauty that killed the beast.
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color blind witches
Mixed media
2023
11.0 in x 8.5 in
Humanity has needs for rituals and ceremonies for assorted reasons. Rituals could commemorate historical events from victories over adversaries or to remember tragic memories. They are the dances of war and love, of martial arts and courtships. Shamans and priestess don their colorful garbs and costumes during ceremonial rites. They sing songs of praises and contrition to their pantheon of deities and supernatural entities. They call for guidance for their daily lives and appreciation for the blessings. Rituals are teachings from one generation to another, lessons learned by elders handed to their children. Ceremonies connect people from the present to the ancestors of the past.
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wet dilution
Mixed media
2023
11.0 x 17.0 in
Most human settlements have seeded along water sources from the Nile River to the Sea of Galilee and River Jordan. In Sancta Terra, people have built civilizations, kingdoms, and empires along bodies of water. Water is both the source of life and death. Many devastating myths about deluge have originated from this region. Floods purified this world and made it anew.
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don't get upset, it's just my prescription talking.
Mixed media
2023
11.0 in x 8.5 in
There is nothing more soul crushing than fighting an invisible enemy. Mental issues are our greatest adversaries. The cure is always illusive and difficult to concoct. Oftentimes, we find ourselves helpless to aid our family members and friends who suffer crises of the mind. Mental issues are relentless occupying one’s lifetime without resolution or ending.
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shaqilath
Mixed media
2023
11.0 in x 8.5 in
Queen Shaqilath was a powerful Nabatean leader that was contemporary of Cleopatra, King Herod the Great, and Julius Caesar. The wonders of Petra found in Jordan attested to the advanced civilization of the Nabateans. Nations do rise and fall. The desert that sheltered great power, wealth, and culture has become the same sea of sand that swallowed the kingdom to a state of oblivion to the Western world. History almost forgot Nabatean culture until Petra was rediscovered back in the 19th century.
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for a much glorious purpose
Mixed media
2023
8.5 in x 11.0 in
herd slavery
Mixed media
2023
11.0 in x 8.5 in
sacred animals
Mixed media
2023
11.0 in x 8.5 in
These three works--“for a much glorious purpose,” “herd slavery” and “sacred animals”--represent the different facets of human psyche in the context of tribalism and indoctrination. The reasons for the tensions and senseless atrocities that are still afflicting the modern world are investigated and internalized. These works are oversimplified visual representations of an overly complex problem. The works are meant only as reflections inspired by travels in the Holy Land.
First, “for a much glorious purpose” is about authoritarianism and dictatorships. Many times, in our history, a leader rises to lead people to a promise of a better world only to plunge society into chaos and wars. Nationalism becomes a disguise to justify ethnic cleansing and holocausts. These dictators exalt “glorious purpose” to rally people that are destitute and entitled to commit atrocities against those that are different. No leader is effective without the blind followers. The process of indoctrination, “herd slavery” becomes a tool for recruitment. Free thought is eliminated, bend to the will of the few. People just follow without the fear of the consequences of their actions. In wars, soldiers just follow orders without guilt or responsibility while people of their government support their actions even into moral turpitude. Finally, “sacred animals” represent the blindness of faith. Self-righteousness and gullibility are the usual ingredients needed for a recipe of destruction. Simply, more people die in our history because of fanaticism. Terrorists and anarchists have evolved into real boogeymen and monsters. Fanaticism fuels a never-ending cycle of violence and retaliation.
Tribalism has been a necessity for survival. Ancient humans congregated into communities to help each other for food, shelter, and protection. It was a social improvement that brought about specialization and culture. However, tribalism also becomes a bane to humanity as exclusiveness divides people and cultures. Wars have become paths for people to secure resources and territories for their expanding needs. Moreover, in our modern world, this discord due to differences has expanded to ideological and religious differences, any excuse to satisfy greed.
About the Artist
Michelangelo Mayo
artist.scientist.adventurer
b. 1971
Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines
Residence: San Jose, California, USA
Filipino-born, American artist, Michelangelo Mayo assembles fragmented images and fractured illustrations to envision difficult emotions and to represent complex mental states that are emerging. Innovative technologies, ever changing modern ideas, and constant evolution of social norms have eroded and molded new attitudes and emotions. This has brought about a need for new visual representations.
Based in San Jose, California, Michelangelo Mayo employs experimental graphic techniques and image transfers coupled with drawing and painting. Moreover, he is also a professional Microbiologist and Clinical Scientist. He likes to combine concepts found in the organic sciences with his visual and mixed media works.
Michelangelo has been an active participant in Dada and Fluxus movements in conjunction with artistamps and mail-art organizations. He has exhibited in many international and US group exhibits. Some of his works have been published in print and online journals.
Portfolios:
https://www.behance.net/michelangelomayo
https://jeng2mayo.myportfolio.com/
https://post1211.blogspot.com/
https://iuoma-network.ning.com/profile/MichelangeloMayo
https://www.instagram.com/michelangelo_mayo/
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jeng2mayo
Selected Exhibitions:
I-Migrant 2
International printmaking Exhibition 2023
April 10-29, 2024
San Jose, California
People/Animals/Things
International printmaking Exhibition 2023
December 9-23, 2023
Bangkok, Thailand
Omaggio A Picasso
July 7-9, 2023
Sala Consiliare Municicpio Di Tufino
Italy
FACE the RACE
SYMBOLISMS & METAPHORS
An International Art Exhibit
The JENNIFER & PHILIP DiNapoli GALLERY
October 18-November 3, 2022
San Jose, California, USA
februllage 2022
https://www.behance.net/gallery/138996277/Caparaz-Mayo-februllage-project-2022
parthenogenesis
December 2021
https://www.fineartpuertorico.com/
Selected Publications:
Latent If Not Present: Arriving at and Departing from Lito Mayo
Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia
2023
By Kiko del Rosario
Acknowledgement and Contribution by Michelangelo Mayo
Moss Piglet
Literary and Visual Arts Magazine
2022-
Meeting Up-International Print Mail Art Project
2022
Stichting Grafein
The Netherlands
Mail Art Volume 49
2021
Sharon Silverman and Michelangelo Mayo Collaboration
Connection Solitude- No 3
2020
Mail Art Archive Vienna
Affiliations:
GACCE
Global Artists’ Creative Collaboration for Empowerment - GACCE
ZMAG
Zoom Mail Art Group
https://zmagmailartistgroup.com/
https://zmag2021.blogspot.com/
IUOMA
International Union of Mail Artist
https://iuoma-network.ning.com/
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THE REFUGEE'S ART GALLERY
Note From the Gallery Director:
Due to California's 2020 Glass Fire, gallery operations at North Fork Arts Projects (NFAP) were temporarily suspended. But as NFAP's curator, I didn't feel like giving the wildfires the last word. I decided to open NFAP’s offsite operations at my fire evacuee residence. Given that this residence and studio is much smaller than my pre-fire digs, the gallery's physical space also has downsized to, not even the closet but, the closet door. The Refugee's Art Gallery may well be the world's thinnest gallery—perhaps I should apply for a Guinness World Record!
My studio has a closet fronted with two sliding doors. One sliding door introduces the gallery. Slide that door away and the second door will be revealed with the hanging artwork. Obviously, all artwork will be flat as the distance between the two doors is 3/8th of an inch. But I can work with that (e.g. this postcard art exhibit). I am glad to present NFAP's offsite Refugee Art Gallery because ART IS RESILIENT. I hope viewers also enjoy the presented artworks.
Also, opinions presented herein are the artist's and not necessarily the gallery's.
(Click on all images to enlarge)
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