Death is inevitable for all of us, yet none of us truly know what awaits in the afterlife; however, for artist Ambie Abaño, represented by Tin-aw Art Gallery, our time alive is defined by a constant search to love and be loved before our bodies eventually return to “the source.”
Known for her mastery of woodcut printmaking, Ambie, in an exclusive interview with adobo magazine, said that she is drawn to the medium because it is organic and natural. “I like the fact that I am not in full control over my material and process; it is humbling and keeps me grounded,” she explained regarding her relationship with wood.
For this year’s Art Fair Philippines, Ambie exhibited …beyond body…, a showcase that asks: What happens to our physical forms when we die? The exhibit features four components: a woman in her prime; a childbearing woman representing procreation; an aging woman whose body is deteriorating; and finally, an image representing death itself.
This concept is an inquiry into the meaning of existence, according to Ambie. “As we live, we always seek love and to be loved, and I think that is the purpose — at least provisionally. I want to think that when we are freed from the body, time, and space, the self remains and becomes one with the maker. We return to the source in perfect love.”
She also noted during a panel discussion that her curiosity about mortality began in childhood.
The exhibition’s power drew me in twice, with my personal favorite being the final image of a deceased body graced by a single flower offering. Beyond the technical skill of the woodcuts, the showcase served as a vital reminder that while we often take time for granted, aging is a beautiful, natural transition toward our final return to the source.
In the end, Ambie’s work reminds us that death is not a hollow conclusion, but a final shedding of the physical to make way for an eternal reunion with the love that created us.
adobo Magazine is an official media partner of Art Fair Philippines 2026.
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