Between the legs at Ina Jardiolin’s ‘Stripped’ show

MANILA, Philippines - For a time, young female artist Ina Jardiolin thought things would be easier if she were born a boy. Girl, you got to carry that weight — to reverse what The Beatles sang long ago.

“Then I realized the solution is to just accept people for what and how they are, for what is between their legs,” Ina explains. 

Thus, a look of andogyny dogs the suite of paintings that are part of Ina’s first solo exhibition titled “Stripped: A Solo Exhibit,” which opens on Oct. 5, 6 p.m., at Kaida Contemporary Gallery.

In 13 of her artworks, the artist explores the human body as landscape, as a playground for ethereality and whimsy, a plane of ciphers and symbols. 

In one painting, an androgynous figure cups his/her groin in front of an arrangement of snake plants. The snake, the artist will tell you, “can change its sex when necessary.”

In another, butterflies are winging upward. “The butterflies are gynandromorphs — or organisms literally born half-male and female.” Everything in its right place: each component “represents the fluid nature and duality of gender and sexuality.”

Jardiolin’s 3-D paintings, which comprised her thesis at the UP College of Fine Arts,  are a different matter altogether. Several pieces of wooden boards are stacked. Each panel is painstakingly painted with acrylic. Holes and slits are carved, creating a three-dimensional effect.

“I am very interested in pre-Hispanic Filipino culture,” she explains. The ancient Pinoys believed that a person has two kinds of souls. The artist put a more contemporary twist.

“How a person dresses dictates how a person is perceived. That’s why there are multiple layers (in the paintings). Each layer is a full painting, it’s not just one section that’s painted.” The medium becomes the message, indeed.

Ina explains that the very freedom to choose the message drew her to painting.

“I don’t think about how unique I am as an artist,” she concludes. “What’s important for me is how my message helps people — how I can reach out and maybe empower some of them. You could say I am a feminist. The real idea of feminism is not to take power away from men, but it’s (to foster) mutual respect for both sexes. We’re a team.”

Sweet girl.

With a palette of bold, adventurous thoughts and colors.

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The show is on view until Oct. 20 at Kaida Contemporary Gallery, 45 Scout Madriñan St., South Triangle, Quezon City. For inquiries, call 709-0289 or 0927-9297129, and email kaida529@yahoo.com.ph.