Boysen KNOxOUT x B+C Design: Painting the festive dimension of EDSA’s sacred space

PHILIPPINES – AUGUST 2, 2011 – For two months now, passing by EDSA-Magallanes southbound has been doubly refreshing because of the first leg of Boysen KNOxOUT Project: EDSA, Jose Tence Ruiz’s mural. The latest installment of the urban renewal initiative, this time on the pillars of the EDSA-Ortigas flyover, recreates the memory of People Power in a contemporary rendering that is at once calculated yet easy on the eyes.

 

For the second part of the project, Damien “Coco” Anne and Ma. Asuncion “Baby” Imperial-Anne, the principals of the graphic design studio B+C Design, Inc., were inspired by the idea of reversals from their daughter, who was drawing symmetrical reversals. 

 

Instead of figurative work like the sculptures at the People Power monument, their work for KNOxOUT resembles a mosaic of fiesta banderitas, with the tesserae as mathematical representations of the EDSA One People Power event–each square representing one minute of the 4,400 minutes of the uprising, and 200 of an estimated two million participants. 

 

Said the Annes: “EDSA is all about reversals. From authoritarian rule to democratic space. From a cowed to an emancipated middle class. From despair to a sense of possibility, even if EDSA continues to challenge planners.” From hopeless pollution to clean air. 

 

KNOxOUT Project: EDSA aims to lessen air pollution on the metropolis’ main artery, at the same time bringing public art into mainstream consciousness through eight large-scale artworks painted using KNOxOUT. The unique paint that has been proven to transform toxic nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere into harmless residue.

 

Metro Manila is reported to have the fourth most polluted air among major cities in the world and air pollution causes 5,000 deaths each year in the metropolis alone. The average 24-hour nitrogen dioxide level along EDSA is over 4.5 times the limit set by the European Union and the World Health Organization, rising to seven times over the limit on days with higher traffic, the levels rise to 7 times over the limit.

 

With KNOxOUT, Boysen envisions an EDSA that stands for “Everyone Deserves Safe Air”. The paint company commissioned the TAO Inc curatorial team of Marian Pastor Roces, Judy Freya Sibayan and Adrian Jones to guide the artist selection and artwork concept development for the project. 

 

With the support of the MMDA, the curators and artists are working collaboratively with the paint chemists, a large painting crew, a support contingent including traffic enforcers. Each of the artworks covers 1,000 square meters, with the next six artworks to be executed in sequence until early 2012.

 

The new work at EDSA-Ortigas by B+C approaches a historic area and confers symbolism that pedestrians and commuters can appreciate visually and through the cleaner air it produces. 

 

As a design practice, B+C has brought their transdisciplinary approach to environmental signage, and book and exhibition design. Together with the architectural firm of Lor Calma Design Associates, and the curatorial firm TAO INC, B+C was recognized for the best designed pavilions in two world expos. Their current projects include the soon-to-rise Mind Museum. 

 

Despite some delays due to inclement weather, the second of the eight artworks is now bringing new color and better air quality to one of EDSA’s major intersections. The MMDA is holding off other painting requests, but the curators welcome the possibility of incorporating future projects into the KNOxOUT initiative and mobilizing volunteers in the painting process–a turnaround from the beautification projects of the past to a new people power that benefits public health.