Bulay-bulay ng Bakla (Gay Gazes)

Solo Exhibition at Project Space Pilipinas in 2023

This exhibition is a warm hug to my young self and to all the little gay boys who are in their odyssey of being at peace to their authentic selves. I want this opportunity to be a validation of their existence that nothing is wrong, and everything gets better. With the show being accessed by the locals, it aims to serve an affirmation or at very least use creativity as a mediator of the dialogue about our similarities and differences as member of one community. By utilising this platform to present an almost autobiographical narrative, I wish to contribute in pushing the conversation forward especially in my beautiful hometown. Because I firmly believe that one of the real value of healing when it comes to identity, diversity, inclusivity, and acceptance is that it lays a solid foundation that gives everyone the licence to dream.

"Thoroughly washed. Forcefully scrubbed. Tightly wringed. Beaten ‘til clean.

Being gay is a stain that smears a fabric that was ought to be pure. But in this exhibition, the expression of the authentic self is a revelation of things buried deep in the hamper.

It is a clothesline—one of remembrance where not only your cape hangs, but also the intricately woven fabric of your suppressed fantasies, flirtations, fragility, freedom; the antithesis to your sealed shut doors, monsters ‘neath your bed, and the confinement of the uncomfortable closet you took comfort in. A space where the frisky skipping of your heart is laid bare.

Seven years after exploring the other side of the world, Kulay Labitigan packs in his suitcase this colorful “Shrine of Banners”, which he zealously waves, not on top, but at the foot of Mt. Banahaw. Together with his craft and artistry, he carries with him a homecoming gift—a souvenir preciously made from scraps of memories, transported through a passport of aspirations."

(Text by Eljay Deldoc Translated by Drew Espenocilla)