Vien Valencia's Perimeter Stays Within Bounds
The sudden shift from his impasto and assemblage paintings to frottage, from videos to installations, a jump from one social issue to another, and the unelaborated motivation in engaging with various communities, perhaps, are indicative of the early practice of Vien Valencia— of trying to find his own visual language. Such young practice also comes with the promise of many possibilities for exciting explorations.
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In his new solo exhibition Perimeter at the Artinformal Gallery in Karrivin Plaza, Makati City, Valencia contemplates spaces that permit, restrict, and confine. However, the works—to a degree—lack intent to complicate such themes that have been long subjects in contemporary art, mostly reducing these realities to symbolic representations, spectacles, and as performative acts.
'Clocks' (2025)
Installation of 12 Bundy clocks, time cards, motorized pulse mechanism
In his installation of Bundy clocks, visitors are invited to clock in and clock out as they enter and leave the gallery space through a time card. The act of registering time, with the intent remaining unclear, seems detached from how the artist perceives time in relation to space through the random collection of personal data.
Untitled (2025)
duration (L to R): 10m 5s, 9m 20s, 12m 21s, 8m 26s, 6m 28s
The same can be said in relation to his video work showing recordings of people navigating public structures such as the overpass, bridges, and sidewalks. The random footage, when viewed as a series of work, only shows the literal, but is unsuccessful in adding another layer.
"Engaging with materials and metaphors of confinement and escape, the artist questions the very notion of an 'outside': is there truly a space beyond control, or are our exits always already mapped?," states the exhibition didactic. But as Valencia interrogates, we are also confronted by other pressing questions: Where does Valencia position himself amidst all these social issues? What's his personal stand as an artist? Valencia's voice is present, albeit vaguely, and only echoes so many voices by attempting to articulate so much.
Untitled (Frames 1 to 20) (2025)
puncher hole remnants from decommissioned Philippine passport covers, and decommissioned Philippine passport covers with puncher holes
In the series of framed works, the artist punched holes in used and old passports; in one frame, the punctured cover of the passport, while in another frame, the chad or paper fragments of the punctured passport cover—the only wall-bound works in the exhibit that are most probably made ideally for acquisition. The attempt to philosophize "the outside of the outside," in Valencia’s own words, offers strong potential that could have been further explored in the exhibition—of course, something that can be realized when producing works without the market in mind, initially.
'Mass Assembly' (2025)
installation of stitched decommissioned prison uniform shirts, originally worn by Persons Deprived of Liberty inside the New Bilibid Prison, Philippines, dual stainless steel conveyor belts
Valencia’s continued effort to engage with marginalized and underrepresented communities becomes apparent in another installation, where he places decommissioned and deconstructed uniforms of persons deprived of liberty on a conveyor belt. The presentation of the uniforms on a conveyor belt appears visually striking, and yet the very use of a distributing machine for manufactured goods is solely for the presentation, and becomes unnecessary—a disconnect between form and intent. This kind of subject, especially when turned into art, an object of contemplation, could have been given more sensitivity and handled with care.
Valencia’s Perimeter stays within its perimeter and falls short of touching or even crossing that line between the notions of private and public spheres. There remains an optimistic and hopeful thought that it is through Valencia's enthusiasm and invigorating energy that he will be able to go beyond the seeming confines of his own practice.
Vien Valencia’s Perimeter runs until September 11 at Artinformal Gallery, Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati.
James Luigi T. Tana is an independent curator and writer focusing on contemporary art. In 2024, he was awarded a competitive travel grant by CiMAM, an international association of museum experts, where he is an active member. He was selected by the Liverpool Biennial and British Council to attend a curator’s networking and development week at the 13th edition of the Liverpool Biennial, the UK’s largest festival of contemporary visual art. He co-curated Moments of Delay (2025) and Adaptation: A Reconnected Earth (2023), and was the project manager for various exhibitions from 2019 to 2024 at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) in Manila.
