An unhusked grain of rice fills the whole house

Galerie B-312 is pleased to welcome the new body of work by Kuh Del Rosario. During a visit to her father's mausoleum, she became fascinated was struck by the oldest commemorative plaque which read: DON. DOMINGO MACATUNAO, Batan's 28th Gobernadorcillo, 1817. Not recognizing the family name, the artist wanted to know more about this mysterious man questioned her relatives. One of her uncles explained that it was actually his recalled own father who had commissioned the  this plaque to commemorate aa figure from stories he had heard as a child.  figure he character from a story he wheard in his childhoodThis ambiguous narrative and the equally cryptic epitaph became the her guides and starting point from which this body of work began. that led to the material exploration and the creation of all the works presented in the exhibition Is Don Domingo Macatunao really one of her ancestors, or did he even exist? The sculptor embraces the uncertainty and views the grave marker situation  as a clandestine secretmessage from her grandfather to his descendants, an expression of hope to validate her lineage's relations connectionsto the town  province of Batan during the Spanish regime. She is not seeking to uncover a definitive truth but rather to provide a material form to something elusive, tracing a new path that connects the present and the future through an imagined past. Like a grain of rice planted decades ago, whose seeds allow it to perpetuate over time, this story transcends the centuries. Handmade papers and ceramics define the heart of the exhibition, alongside sculptures made from her more familiar medium of synthetic and ephemeral substances.  and are displayed alongside the sculptures. Kuh Del Rosario favours an eminently organic materiality with experimental techniques that bring together a wide range of collected matter materials. For example, some elements structures  are flocked with covered with a paste made from coffee grounds, crusted salt and crushed clam shells grouinds. Her handmade papers are crafted from recycled paper, rag pulp and abaca lintersshredded fabric and avocado pulp, incorporating other materials such as bison fur, hemp fibres and natural pigments or indigo dye. It becomes difficult to pinpoint the origin of what is seen: could these be old objects found, buried under the earth or in water? This way of working also allows the artist to rethink the paper medium and to bring forth, through materials rather than words, a story that is more fluid and constantly evolving. In some pieces, the sculptor incorporates an anthropomorphic touch, such as adding feet to a cardboard box shipped from the Philippines, which arrived damaged and completely covered in stamps. In another work, she reproduces carved wooden statues representing characters performing the Philippine folk dance Tinikling. The movements of this traditional dance, and its name, are inspired by the tikling, a bird skilled at stealing rice from the fields while avoiding bamboo traps. For her, it is a metaphor for symbolizes freedom and constant movement toward expansion, which she aims to reflect throughout her entire exhibition, on view in both rooms of the Galerie B-312 until April 12, 2025.

An unhusked grain of rice fills the whole house is the translation of Sang uhay nga paeay nakaeuob it baeay, a riddle in the Akéne language–spoken in her father's family. Kuh Del Rosario borrows what becomes the equivalent of a proverb to convey an idea saved in its cocoon that, even if it is not realized, has the power to illuminate the path.

                                                                                                                                                                      —JOANNIE BOULAIS