Secrets Revealed

Published in What's On & Expat 30 March 2008

We all have one, at least, and use it on a regular basis to aid our slumber be it filled with the softest down or just some folded clothes. The pillow is our nocturnal friend and support who never discloses the secrets to which it is privy, from the endearments to a best beloved to the angst of late night soul searching. The innocent spectator mostly dressed for comfort although when in its party frock can come down stairs to lounge upon the lounge.

It is rare to see this innocuous domestic essential on public display outside of the haberdashery department, but such is the case with the latest exhibition at the Silverlens gallery. Artist Ringo Bunoan has been documenting her pillows for the last seven years which culminates in the installations that are “Pillow Talk”.

Six works are on show that range from a series of eight photographs of two pillows bound together as they explore the confines of an empty room in “Take Nothing, Leave Nothing” in front of a mountain range made from pillow fillings in “Two Years of Sleep”. At the other end of the gallery is “Wall”, literally a 21 foot long wall made of pillows. The majority are naked bed pillows with decorative pillows of various types interspersed. Statically placed in front of “Wall” is “In the Same Breath”, twelve pillows arranged on the floor like the numerals of a clock with each pillow having a photograph of a tomb stone with date of death being June 1st 1986 attached.

Linking these works is “Sleepwalking”, a series of 6 glowing pictures of a pillow visiting a variety of front doors, a whimsical adventure of a nomadic life. Then there is “White Noise”, a recording of the hiss of silence with two pillows side by side as a back drop, inducing speculation about conversations that have fallen through the gap.

Pillow Talk continues at the Silverlens Gallery until the 19th of April at 2320 Pasong Tamo Extension, Makati City. More information is available from www.silverlensphoto.com.