The essence of Switzerland captured in Philippine art
Though many flock to Switzerland to see their beautiful mountains, taste their delectable cheeses, and load up on their chocolates — what many may not know is that the country takes great pride in being one of the most innovative designing centers in the world. Their technological know-how has aided in creating significant inventions that we all use in our daily life, such as cellophane, Velcro and the Swiss Army knife. Don’t forget, it is also the Swiss Guards who were chosen to protect the papacy in the 15th century, even up to today.
It is no surprise, then, that when the Embassy of Switzerland and the iconic Swiss brand, Swatch launched its Create and Innovate art competition, the standards were high. But the essence of Switzerland truly came to life in the winning artworks chosen last week. The Create and Innovate competition called in entries to make artworks that captured the spirit of the country by creating something original; innovating an old concept; or making something with a touch of Swatch.
Though many impressive entries flowed in, the top three winners from their respective categories surprised the panel with their level of technique and ingenuity.
For the Create category, Robbin Jay S. Gregorio framed one sheet of white paper carefully crafted using the die-cut method that revealed the design by using a strategic lighting and shadow technique. He was able to create intricate and delicate patterns reflecting the tranquil spirit of the country and making it come to life.
For the Innovate category, Eugene Michael Tidalgo followed in the footsteps of Swiss ingenuity, utilizing yards and yards of tent material to create a windbreaker trench jacket that converts to a tent or personal shelter during outdoor activities and even in emergency situations. Using fashionable humor, the title of his work, “Ce nest pas une veste” (or “This is not a jacket”) is adopted from Rene Magritte’s famous painting. These two winners from the Create and Innovate category both get a chance to fly to Switzerland care of Etihad Airways.
Meanwhile the winner of the Swatch Category, who was asked to incorporate the brand into their artwork, created a masterpiece using 2,000 pieces of tiny toys, including toy cars, jackstones and little plastic flowers, which she meticulously glued together to recreate a scene of the bucolic Swiss Alps. The element of Swatch artist Viviane Mirafuente incorporated into her artwork was the littlest but most important detail: she used the buckle from one of her old Swatch watches to replicate a traditional Swiss cable car.
The Swiss Cultural Fund awarded the school that submitted the most number of entries, given to TUP (Technology University of the Philippines), a school that is beginning to hone many young artists today. TUP received the Swiss Cultural Fund Recognition Award worth P100,000.
The event was made possible with the efforts of Swiss Ambassador Ivo Sieber, deputy head of mission and head of the Swiss Cultural Fund Raoul Imbach, Swatch Philippines president Virgie Ramos, and Etihad Airways general manager Juan Torres, who were all present at the event to give recognition to the winners. Also present to give their undying support were some of Swatch Philippines’ close friends and family, including Billy Crawford, Coleen Garcia, Rowell Santiago and Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski.
Not only did the competition honor Switzerland, it also gave Filipino talents an opportunity to showcase their novel and fresh ideas, reimagining concepts and making them come to life, spotlighting the future talents of the nation that we surely have to watch out for.
