Fractals

Edwin Wilwayco held his latest one-man-show titled Fractals at Altro Mondo, Greenbelt 5 in Makati City. The last show he had in the Philippines was in 2012. Prior to his Fractals exhibit in Makati, he had shows in Singapore and the US. 

Wilwayco’s friends and family were in attendance to see the canvases bursting with colors that the artist is known for. The show was called Fractals because Wilwayco thought that there was more to abstract art than just dragging and sloshing paint all over a canvas. “I like the idea of finding an endless repetition of fractal units that seem ‘not repetitive.’ Fractals comes from ‘fractured’ or ‘irregular’ patterns that I observe in nature,” he explains.

Wilwayco graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of the Philippines and took further studies at West Surrey College of Art and Design in England as a British Council scholar for painting.

I hope it won’t take another three years before this talented artist has another show in Manila!

(Check out www.edwinwilwayco.com.)

Celebrating color & photography

It’s Leica Store’s first anniversary in the Philippines!

To coincide with the well-loved camera brand’s milestone in the country, the company launched the new Leica SL camera at its Greenbelt 5 store in Makati City.

Guests also witnessed the unveiling of the brand’s store gallery featuring Fade Into Light, a travel photography series by AP Murillo and Raul Echivarre that captured the act of gathering fish in Currimao, Ilocos Norte. Part of the proceeds of the gallery went to Sitio Remedios Heritage Corp., a non-profit organization that is dedicated to funding the education of the fishermen’s children.

Leica Camera Asia Pacific professional system manager Sim Tiak Siew and senior marketing and public relations manager  Gracia  Yap  flew  in from  Singapore for the event.

“It is the things that appear simple that are most difficult to attain. At Leica, our vision is to always focus on the essentials and from there we innovate to cater to the needs of the creative minds,” Yap said.

The new Leica SL features an electronic viewfinder that utilizes EyeRes technology. It has a latency time below the threshold of perception, an impressive resolution of 4.4 million pixels and a magnification reminiscent of a medium-format camera. It also has the high-performance Maestro II series processor that allows photographers to capture even the fastest-moving objects.

“The first anniversary of the Leica Store in Manila marks an even better celebration of life through photos. We look forward to many more years of serving the imaginative Filipino hobbyist and professionals,” said Leica store general manager Edith Dychiao.

It’s Christmas at the Araneta Center

It was a night like no other at the Araneta Center as the 100-ft. Araneta Christmas Tree lit up, sparkling up the holiday spirit of merrymaking and good cheer.

President and CEO of the Araneta Group Jorge Araneta said, “It’s an annual tradition that shoppers and revelers look forward to because it signals the start of the season. It’s a colorful reminder of love, joy and hope that the season brings. We want to make it better than last year so we constantly challenge ourselves to make this annual tradition more joyous, festive and entertaining than the last.”

Leading the Araneta Tree lighting ceremony were Araneta Group vice chairman Judy Araneta-Roxas, ABS-CBN’s Korina Sanchez-Roxas, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, Quezon City Rep. Jorge Banal and Novotel Manila GM Bernd Schneider.

TV personalities Vice Ganda, Sarah Lahbati, Jerome Ponce, Loisa Andalio and Joshua Garcia were also in attendance to witness the event. Lyca Gairanod and Darlene Vibares of The Voice Kids Philippines Season 1 and Daryl Ong, Jason Fernandez and Bradley Holmes of The Voice of the Philippines Season 2 sang Christmas songs for the audience.

To celebrate the season of giving and sharing, the Araneta Center also hosted a gift-giving activity for the children of Child Haus, a temporary shelter for underprivileged parents and their children. Vice Ganda led the gift-giving along with Binibining Pilipinas beauty queens Pia Wurtzbach, Parul Shah, Anne Lorraine Colis, Rogelie Catacutan and Christi McGary. Fireworks display and the performance of a live band capped the festivity. 

‘Power over cervical cancer’

“It’s one of those things that human beings go through life. Some people, they lose their houses;  some lose their jobs.  Some get sick with some other sickness; some have deaths in their families. Some go through calamities. Some don’t have money for the tuition fees of their kids. These are struggles that are part of life — and some have cancer,” narrates Gypsy Avila in the opening of the YouTube video Our Stories. The video tells the story of Gypsy and four other women who are fighting for their lives against cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is a major problem for Filipino women. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among Filipinas, with seven dying of the dreaded disease every single day. What’s more worrying is that two in three Filipinas diagnosed with cervical cancer may die within five years, or up to 2,832 women dying in a year. In its early stage, it may have no signs or symptoms. But unlike breast cancer, which tops the list, cervical cancer can be prevented.

In May, GSK Philippines launched the “Power Over Cervical Cancer” campaign, which seeks to educate Filipino women that they can do something to prevent this disease that can affect women. This month the advocacy furthers its reach with the Power Wives, which revolves around empowering women when it comes to preventing cervical cancer and seeks to embrace more women across all demographics.

The Power Wives was launched at the Philippine Transmarine Carriers office in Makati with the spouses of our seafarers. The women underwent a program that included sessions on personality development, image building, personal resilience, financial management and self-care. With Christmas just a few weeks away, a gift-wrapping tutorial was led by Chiqui Barretto of Wrap It Up who taught the participants how to wrap tricky items, which they can in turn use to start a small business. A makeup tutorial session followed, which was led by professional makeup artist Mica Fuentes Tuano.

There are about 400,000 Filipino seafarers deployed who render themselves and their families at greater risk for several diseases and infections due to their working conditions. While they are striving for financial stability for a bright future, GSK wants to bring into their consciousness the value of preventive healthcare. Securing the OFW families’ future is important. The future should not only mean financial stability but also health and wellness among the family members. Therefore, the need for health check-ups and vaccination becomes more imperative.

(To know more about cervical cancer, visit the Pangarap Mo, Protektado channel on YouTube.)

(Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)