Mara Red

We humans will never be detached from our basic animal instincts. No matter how advanced or special we are as a species, there will always be the collective unconscious that will make us identify with a bull, a boar or a bitch. It is neither a curse nor a gift but simply, the way of nature

             ...Mara Red



Un Chien Andali (An Easy Dog)

by Czyka Tumaliuan

Man has always usurped monopoly over every breathing species on the planet. Despite the proven physiological similarities of human beings and what Charles Darwin called the “higher mammals,” man still stomp on the possibility that we and these creatures are equals to maintain a higher footing on the world. Last June 11, 2011, contemporary artist Mara Red questions this dominion in her debut exhibit Un Chien Andali (An Easy Dog) at Kulay-Diwa Gallery of Philippine Contemporary Art.

According to Mara Red, “we humans will never be detached from our basic animal instincts. No matter how advanced or special we are as a species, there will always be the collective unconscious that will make us identify with a bull, a boar or a bitch. It is neither a curse nor a gift but simply, the way of nature.”

This belief is the unifying theme of her show that will haunt your conscious and subliminal with the primal question capable of making your mind self-destruct in front of you: “Is the human being really a higher life form or it’s just man’s arrogance that assumes supremacy?”

Interestingly, Mara Red didn’t just illustrate this idea through her choice of subjects, but also through her method of painting. To show the brute side of man, Mara painted “carelessly,” basing every brush stroke on what she felt, on her lustful instincts, not on her “rationality”. This is why the images’ form looks messy and loose, the lines imprecise. You can definitely feel a sense of fauvism pulsating in each of her opus, especially in her wild use of strident colors, which channels strings of strong emotions to the viewer.

But Mara’s works evoked neither rage nor chagrin unlike the works of angsty contemporary artists who see the canvass as a rant balm. Mara Red was actually making fun of man’s vanity in her exhibit. Humor, dark and tasteful, can be seen in “Mama Knows Best” and “Primal Instinct.”

In truth, the randomness and “un-intellectualness” of the exhibit’s title dares you to laugh at the arbitrariness of things and of life in general. The title was a twist of Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel’s most controversial surrealist film Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog).Although the movie’s (un)meaning may be related to the show’s underlying theme, according to Mara Red, she wasn’t alluding to some lofty philosophical truth when she decided to use it for her show. She just chose the title because it was one her favorite films and it was just fun and “cute” to change the word “Andalou” to the Filipino word “Andali.”

Renowned Filipino artist Alwin Reamillo visited the exhibit and said, “the collection will make you think about whether the thin line dividing us from animals really exists. Come to think of it, sometimes man is just way too arrogant to admit that we are beasts in our own ways.”

Avant-garde indie director Jon Red was really proud of his daughter’s debut exhibit and said, “I’m so happy and so proud of Mara. I always wanted to paint but I ended up working as a director. Actually, I did paint before, but I was never able to put up a one-man show like this. I felt that Mara fulfilled my personal dream which I wasn’t able to pursue.”

He continued, “as regards the exhibit, I think it’s very personal. I think Mara, her art, is a work in progress. Hindi pa ito iyon.”

Mara Red’s debut exhibit Un Chien Andali (An Easy Dog) will be at Kulay-Diwa Gallery of Philippine Contemporary Art until July 1, 2011.



Selected Group Exhibits

2008   Special children                          Cocina Juan

          Disjuan                                      Cocina Juan

2009   Impacho                                    Café Leona         

          4:20                                         Café Leona

          Stick with the enemy                 Mo_

2011   16:20                             Leona Art Restaurant

         Survivalism          Light and Space Contemporary 

Solo exhibits

2009   Lowlife crisis                              Cocina Juan

2010   Raised Hair, Broken Bones          Magnet Gallery





Kulay-Diwa Gallery of Philippine Contemporary Art is a privately owned venue for artistic expression. It is strategically located within a cluster of progressive communities South of Manila. It has an independent exhibition area able to accommodate large-scale works, and a spacious garden ideal for outdoor programs, performances and sculpture installations.

Goals of Kulay-Diwa

To discover and promote the works of talented, young and deserving Filipino Artist;

To serve as a cultural outpost and make the arts more accessible to the fast-growing communities South of Manila; and

To foster cultural interaction and exchanges with the local regions and other countries.

Kulay(Color)

Diwa(Spirit, Thought)







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