To Stand In The Meeting Of Two Eternities
Vermont M. Coronel, Jr.
In 2012, Vermont Coronel Jr.’s first solo exhibition “Spirit of a Place” showcased aerosol paintings of places in the city that appeared and felt like his hometown in Laguna. Starting a family of his own required him to uproot himself from Santa Rosa and live in Quezon City. During his bike commutes in the urban landscape, he was always in search of edifices, nooks and crannies that reminded him of his life in the outskirts of the metro. Seven years later, the artist is still on the look out for places and spaces. Difference is, his search for fragments of his hometown in the city has pivoted to a hunt for sites in his hometown that are similar to what he sees in Metro Manila. Coronel says that you’ll know when you’re already in the province because the foliage is lush; the plants grow and crawl on structures. His deep connection with nature is inherent to him being originally from the rural.
