When Graffiti Can Be Beautiful

When Graffiti Can Be Beautiful!

By: Nonnette C. Bennett

It is boring to look at clean painted walls. Such a waste of space, it is the venue for expression of vandals who just want to mark it with their names. Marked with names in spray paint not tastefully printed, they are not visually pleasant. Of late, Angelo Aurelio, performance and visual artist, found walls of schools and public parks as canvas for his own type of graffiti.

In search of himself and an outlet for his creative energy, he actually painted the walls of the Baguio City Jail – Female Dorm with floral patterns. His artwork actually lifted the spirits of the officers and the ladies. It was a break from the monotony of the pale walls and bars. This inspired Warden April Rose Ayangwa to bring the talent of Gelo to Paracelis for a week to do work on the walls of the Paracelis National High School and Paracelis Central School as a contribution of the Ayangwa Movement for Good Governance. This further inspired him to use historical images and symbols in his murals. He used the image of the generous couple who played a key role in the history of Paracelis on one wall and the Ga’dang gong players on another. He used images of the deer and the birds that abound in the mountains too. He kept true to the colors and symbolisms of the culture.

Called to Pidigan, Abra, he found the walls of St. Mary’s High School to work on. It was here where Gabriela Silang caught his attention and it seemed that this set the stage for his mural on the national heroes. He discovered how beautiful and fiercely nationalistic Gabriela was and he was hypnotized.

By the end of April, he was caught in a frenzy of capturing the images of 22 images of our national heroes for the Department of Education in time for National Heroes Day. Striking was the side lining of Jose Rizal who is often used as the centerpiece of any celebration. True to President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to give all the heroes equal attention, Gelo’s mural on tarpaulin allows a viewer to examine each face and expression. It is often difficult for an artist to give the details of his work and the reason for using the elements of color or texture. Gelo explained his art in both the presentations at the Baguio Museum and at DepEd in Manila, aptly captured by Krissy Aguilar of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, “Ako po’y gumamit din ng mga kulay na hamok sa ating bandila. Pula para sa katapangan, para sa apoy ng nasyonalismo. Para sa mga bayani na nag-alay ng dugo at buhay (I also used the colors of our flag – red for bravery and the fires of nationalism. It stands for heroes who gave up their lives).” “Asul para sa lalim ng diwang Pilipino, para sa karagatan, para sa kalikasan. Puti para sa dalisay na kaluluwa at dilaw para sa liwanag at galing ng Pilipino (Blue for the depth of Filipino spirit, for the ocean, for nature. White for the purity of the soul and yellow for the greatness of the Filipino),” Aguilar added as Gelo’s explanation.

In July, Gelo launched another mural for the Baguio Museum on the occasion of re-opening the Cordillera exhibit area. The rehabilitation and curation of the exhibit area was funded by a grant from the Unites States of America Embassy was launched in time for the Filipino – American friendship day. He captured the old images of Cordillera’s major tribes from the six provinces. Gelo ably expressed the distinct details of each tribe’s customary traditional garb.

Gelo has turned murals into narratives that inspire a love of place, a love of history and love for culture. It is time that graffiti turn into beautiful stories that inspire a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.