Jasper Joseph Marcos- Garvida

Jasper Joseph Marcos- Garvida (b. 1977, Philippines) lives and works in London. He studied Fashion Design Womenswear at Central St. Martins College of Art & Design and then ran his own label for ten years.

Selected Exhibitions

2021 Together it Seams: Prick and Stitch Alliance, Standpoint Gallery, London,

2020 Work in Progress, Royal College of Art, London,

2019 Existential Bodies – Graduate Diploma show, Royal College of Art

2007 MAK Nite: Scenography of a Fashion Show, Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna

2006 Ausstellung Generation Mode, Stadt Museum, Düsseldorf

Awards

2015 Designer Innovation Award – Luxury Law Summit

2008 Winner – SKY TV’s design competition – Project Catwalk

As an artist and a maker, my practice explores ideas on transformation, materiality, fragility, and the body. Deep in its core is the search for meaning to our existence as human beings, the lives that we live, and the space we inhabit. I believe art can deepen our understanding of the relationship between ourselves and the world around us. My work touches on the widely felt sense of isolation caused by the global pandemic and the increased focus on mental health.

Growing up in the Philippines, as the seventh of seven siblings, with a seven-year gap between me and my brother, I remember whenever I was scolded by my parents or siblings, I would effectively isolate myself. I felt alone with no one to confide in or to cry to. So, I would hide in small places which I could fit into such as a cupboard, in a corner inside of a wardrobe cabinet or underneath a parked car. My current practice grew directly from the recollection of these traumatic experiences from my childhood.

When making, I combine my knowledge and intuition with the materials, allowing my senses to guide my hands to give character to the piece. The human dimension in my work is central to my practice. Making by hand is a time-based tactile process that allows me to reflect on my work. In doing so, I find new ways to understand materials – their composition, forms and functions.

Having worked as a womenswear designer, I was trained to understand the relationship between the body and the cloth. When I designed, I observed the body – the shapes it creates, how it moves in space, how it changes, its proportions and its distortions. When I started to study Sculpture, I began to understand the body in a different way, seeing it as a material and/or as a tool and that can hold and release powerful emotions.

Collapse (2021) — Recycled paper, wire, clay, wire, cardboard, wood, balsa, acrylic and plaster. 26x 15x 12CM.

Collapse (2021) — Close up detail of Collapse (2021).

Fear (2020) — Recycled paper, cardboard and wire. 11.5X 23X 7CM.

Fear (2020) — Video (34 seconds).

Sorry (2020) — Found cardboard, balsa, acrylic, wire, paper and plaster. 12x 14x 12CM

Sorry (2020) — Video (42 seconds).

Refuge (2021) — Recycled cardboard, balsa, calico, paper, wire, cement and acrylic. 19x 11x 10CM.

Refuge (2020) — Video (39 seconds).

Loss (2021) — Found wood, paper, wire, cement, acrylic and eggshells. Assemblage 40x 14x 10CM.

Loss (2021) — Video (1 min. and 29 secs).

Escape (2021) — Video (1 minute and 4 seconds).

Escape (2021) — In collaboration with Johannes Von Schoenebeck. Recycled cardboard, electrical tape, fruit packaging, wire, acrylic, paper and eggshells. 9x 8x 8CM

Begin (2020) — Recycled cardboard, balsa, paper, wire, mirror, LED lights, acrylic, threads, and foam board. 18x 21x 12CM.

A portrait (2021) — In collaboration with Kimberley Antonye Cookey- Gam. Assemblage 18x 24x 18CM (irregular).

A portrait (2021) — Video (1 minute and 10 seconds).

I started to experiment with miniature figures made from wire and paper. It became clear that the figures carried more emotional heft if they were located in a space, so I created a box for each of them which was bespoke to their emotional state.

l looked at various figurative works from artists such as Thomas Shütter, Mark Manders and Rodin which depicted a range of emotions and recognised how they captured the expressive figure and at the same time showed tension in the body. I also looked at Barbara Hepworth’s drawings of nude figures which, in contrast, had subtlety in their movements.

I made small figures and positioned their bodies to create gestures to evoke a range of emotions from fear to desperation. We become fragile when we have these raw emotions; when you see the boxes, they are not perfect – we are not perfect and I wanted to show the raw materials in their natural state to reflect us as human beings.

What the viewer sees is the final assemblage. A QR code is available for the viewer to see how they were put together.

Isolated (2021) — Egg carton, wire, paper, clay, eggshell and wire mesh. Assemblage 19x 95x 9CM (irregular).

Whispers (2021) — Found wooden container, wire, clay and recycled packaging materials. Assemblage 32x 17x 11.5CM.

Baggage (2020) — Recycled paper packaging, plaster, found piece of wood and wire 17x 15x 12 CM.

Hide and Seek (2020) — Found pieces of wood, paper, plaster, wire and acrylic. Assemblage x 60x 8x 8CM.

I often felt out of place growing up. Exploring my own experiences of trauma, I remember feeling isolated as a child. I was the youngest of seven children and whenever I was chastised, I would seek out places to hide where I could console myself.

Isolated in space, I have given the figures gestures which evoke feelings of loss or despair and I have created for them an environment appropriate for each delicate figure. The figures themselves are in solitude and I want the viewers to recognise the feelings of isolation.

That Hurts Two — Paper. 150cm x 180 x 24CM

That Hurts Preview — Video (2 minutes and 17 seconds).

Sound Sketch — Video (1 Minute)

A sheet of paper 150cm x 180cm was placed on the floor, underneath was a roughly cut circular piece of paper. I positioned myself in the middle, on top of the layers. Using my body as a guideline, I began to gently prick the surface of the paper at random within the parameters of my arm’s reach, using sharp tools such as a tweezer, an awl and an letter opener, giving the surface of the paper a perforated texture. The pressure placed on the surface of the paper varied as I reflected on my past traumatic experiences. That Hurts Two, recorded on an iPhone, is a product from the performance of That Hurts. From this performance I developed a sound sketch.

Jasper Joseph Marcos- Garvida

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Royal College of Art