Winning artworks hit the bull's-eye

MANILA, Philippines - Swatch and The Philippine STAR announce the winners of “My Bullish Art Contest.” The awarding ceremony for the 14 winners takes place today, March 7, 2 p.m., at the Swatch Store in Greenbelt 5, Ayala Malls.

It was the work of Bleau Aquino and Ryder Aquino — a mosaic of over a thousand photos that capture the happy and hopeful spirit of humanity, notwithstanding the economic turmoil and political crisis that currently plagues the rest of the world — that won first place. First prize is P100,000 from Swatch and the Swatch Special Bulls On Parade watch.

The Aquino brothers share a passion for the creative arts, digital graphic design and photography. They complement each other in terms of creative style and technical acumen, which makes them click as a team. Bleau is the managing director of Silverline Events and has had extensive experience in creative design, and executing below-the-line promotional campaigns and marketing collaterals for various consumer brands and companies. On the other hand, Ryder is currently a graphic designer for Dentsu Indio and was the copywriter for Knorr’s “Makulay ang Buhay” commercial when he was still connected with the international creative advertising agency Lowe Worldwide.

Their vision for their entry was to think out-of-the-box and re-interpret the 2009 Year of the Ox Chinese New Year theme. Instead of using an Ox as the main subject, the brothers thought it would be better to play around with the nomenclature of the theme. Thus, the “Year of the OKs” was conceptualized. The idea was to make the artwork meaningful by reflecting the positivism of the Filipino spirit despite the cynical forecasts for 2009.

In preparation for their entry to the Swatch contest, the brothers posted and pitched the “Year of the OKs” concept artwork in their respective blog sites in order to inspire contacts to contribute photos and reasons to rejoice in 2009. Friends, colleagues, strangers and even people based in Vancouver, Canada, responded and helped Bleau and Ryder complete their contest entry.

The final design execution of the mosaic is clean and simple to highlight the beauty of capturing thousands of photos and reasons that depict 2009 as the “Year of the OKs.” As the saying goes, “a picture paints a thousand words,” and if we follow that train of thought — a photo mosaic of 1,000+ people — vouching that 2009 will be an OK year, therefore, paints a million words that this year is a marvelous one to celebrate.

Even after submitting their entry, both Bleau and Ryder expected that their artwork would eventually be a springboard for a bigger campaign to promote a positive outlook for 2009. They hope that with a bit of luck the campaign will have a positive effect on people who are feeling hopelessly down and out. There are just so many more reasons why 2009 is a blessed year, if we just learn to appreciate all the good things that come our way instead of focusing on negative predictions and being pessimistic. We only have one life to live and it is best to spend it with a positive spirit filled with gladness and contentment so that we can leave a legacy that springs hope for the next generation.

The Honorable Mention Winners

• Cristina Panajon, 26, sister of Lea Panajon, second-prize winner, currently works as a data encoder. In her free time she likes surfing the Net and playing computer games. All honorable mention winners receive the Swatch Special Bulls On Parade watch.

• Mark Angelo Argarin, 32, is married, and currently employed as a graphic artist at the SM head office. In college he used to paint but has since moved to the new medium of digital art as this is less expensive and less time-consuming than painting. He likes playing chess in his spare time.

• Belandre “Billy” Nepomuceno, 40, married with a 10-year-old son, is currently employed as an artist in the marketing group of SGV. He was one of consolation-prize winners in the “Year of the Pig Photo Contest.” His hobby is digital photography and his family is always his inspiration when he submits entries.

• John Joseph “JJ” dela Rosa, 27, is an advertising assistant at Bankee Trading. His hobbies include painting and sketching and he likes playing basketball, too. He also collects toys like action figures, Alex Ross and anime. His inspiration for his entry is “to start the year with passion.”

• Waldz Villanueva’s, in his mid ‘30s, entry is an interesting interpretation of Philippine art and the letras y figuras, which spell out “My Bullish Art” and feature a Tibetan mandala.

• Cleo Roda Nodado, 38, single, is currently employed at Novartis as product manager. The inspiration for her artwork is “being bullish in difficult times,” which means thinking positive all the time. Her hobby is photography and she is an active member of the Olongapo Camerabugs Photography Club. She won the grand prize in last year’s Year of the Rat Photo Contest.

• Judith Cheng Carlos, 42, married, with a nine-year-old son, thought of submitting a 3-D entry to catch the judges’ attention. Her hobby is photography and she currently runs a small Internet café.

• Rommel Ramota, 26, is an advertising and public relations senior student at PUP. His hobbies include painting, sketching, and swimming.

• Fredrich “Edrich” Buenaventura, 30, married with a baby girl, is a teacher at St. Paul’s College Bocaue, Bulacan, teaching technology and home economics to sophomores and seniors. He is a Fine Arts graduate and painting is his hobby.

• Virginia Chua, 55, and single, decided to join the contest during a bonding session with her niece. In her spare time she enjoys cross-stitching, watching movies and TV. She works in her family business.