MANILA, Philippines—Visual artist and muralist Kara Pangilinan brings her third solo exhibition this month with “Lost Girls.” This exhibition is a series of acrylic paintings that delve into the emotional complexities people often face in their late twenties, and as they get older.
“Lost Girls” is a demonstration of the human experience, boldly facing existential crisis, the questions no one wants to ask, and the feelings we all wish we didn’t feel. The exhibition is set to open this July 20 until the 30th at the Grandeza Art Space, in San Juan.
“In this series, I explored using a touch of color on the women I’ve illustrated, and placing them against a backdrop of black and white patterns that are meant to overwhelm both the subjects and the viewers. Because that’s what life feels like sometimes. Chaotic, with too much going on. It leaves us just a little lost,” Pangilinan writes.
She adds, “Despite that, it is precisely those overwhelming details that make everything beautiful– from the wallpapers, floors and white lace dresses, to the expressions of all those women. And even if the paintings convey a sense of being lost, there is also a glimmer of something else– a sense of beauty, softness and strength.”
With a creative career spanning ten years, Pangilinan’s pursuits started with stationeries and t-shirts before transitioning to other mediums from helmets and guitars until finding that sweet spot with murals as an artistic expression. Not long after, she has since made creative work for brands like Toblerone, Heineken, Johnnie Walker, Mentos, Youtube, Samsung, Fino Leatherware, SM, and Google.
She adds, “These paintings are my best attempts at capturing and expressing what it feels like to be growing up and moving through life at this age and at this time. Each piece tells a story. Whether it’s about grappling with the pressures of adulthood, trying to figure out one’s place in the world, or wanting to crumble under the weight of people’s expectations, these paintings speak to something that is at once deeply personal and yet shared by so many. Hopefully this collection speaks to people’s hearts and reminds them of what it means to be human.”
