Science fiction has this special way of pushing the limits of imagination. Traversing even some of the most unconquerable spaces between reality and fantasy (for better or for worse) and design, almost every aspect of sci-fi is ripe with some of the most genius and/or bizarre art and design—from conception to production, and in bringing reel to real. For many artists and designers, those unconquerable spaces provide more than enough freedom to experiment and explore.
Signs Fiction 4 pays homage to that key visual slice: movie posters. Running from March 14 to May 6, 2024 at Altro Mondo (The Picasso, Makati), the series features more than 30 large format alternative film posters by visual artists Tof Zapanta, Vincent Aseo, and Raf Banzuela. It showcases artist proofs of licensed work and privately commissioned posters, each rendered as high quality silkscreen prints on specialty paper or as Giclée Archival prints on Hahnemüle Photo Rag Paper (courtesy of Genta Art Prints). Now on its fourth iteration, the exhibit serves as a welcome space for the collective’s shared love for art creation and appreciation, movie magic, and sci-fi.
For Zapanta, who initiated Signs Fiction in August 2023 as a collaborative effort to showcase Filipino talent, the project really started out as a side quest to the illustration, graphic design, and art direction work he does by day. However, he has always felt that a large part of his graphic work has been largely influenced by sci-fi concepts and imagery. That retro feel of 50s paperback covers depicting “how the future looked like to someone from the past, …merged with more contemporary geometric minimalism” always struck a chord, as stated in the press release. In this sense, the concept dates back from the digital works he created for Curioos, an art print company from New York who featured his work as part of their artist series collections in 2014. Developing Signs marked a pivotal moment for Zapanta, as this was also around the same time he first started using a pen for digital illustrations as opposed to a mouse, and started getting more private commissions and online recognition such as a feature on Behance (and as of recently, becoming part of Alternative Movie Posters dot com, and Poster Spy communities). Safe to say, it opened a new world (or worlds) for him.
Despite having worked closely with both Aseo and Banzuela in the past, it still never ceases to amaze Zapanta that the two artists get to illustrate and design movie posters for a living. As artists of licensed alternative movie posters for top film studios around the world like DC, Sony, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Disney, and more through Poster Posse—a creative agency that handles their alternative movie poster projects—both Aseo and Banzuela ironically have a bigger following globally than locally. Zapanta hopes that shows like Signs can help change that.
Aseo’s punchy style is known to “fuse pop-culture aesthetic and vector graphics” and capture the vibrant energy of his selected titles such as Japanese shows Akira, Paprika, and Ultraman to Hollywood productions like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Star Wars Trilogy.
If the musical score to Zapanta’s works lean more towards ambient and cinematic, Banzuela’s sound and look more like 90s psychedelic rock, and doom metal. His versions of the Super Metroid and Legend of Zelda video games are reminiscent of vinyl record covers of the mentioned genres—perhaps a projection of Banzuela’s personal interest in sci-fi themes and, as per Banzuela, “fluctuations of fantasy,” and his slower-paced farm surroundings where he usually tends to trees when not working behind a computer.
While the three have distinct styles, the collection feels like being in the middle of a conversation among friends pulling all-nighters to play their favorite RPGs or to binge-watch a show (or an entire series most likely seen more than once and counting). But any creative who has ever worked in a corporate environment knows, for a fact, that not all creative work aligns with his/her/their soul and that being able to constantly work on things one loves is a privilege.
Aseo, a multimedia graduate, first worked with several companies as a multimedia artist before mustering up the means to focus on illustration. In 2010, he started getting more attention for precisely that, which later led him to opportunities to add clients like DC Comics, 20th Century Fox, Marvel, and Sony to his folio. Similarly, Banzuela spent some time in corporate advertising before leaping over to freelancing. A self-taught designer and illustrator, Banzuela’s “detailed style of line art and strong colors” landed him illustration work for books, ads, video games, and posters for firms such as Leo Burnet, Bottleneck Gallery, and Cheil, according to the exhibit notes.
In the grander scheme of things, is there a point to continue doing what we love just for the sheer love of it? At a time of blatant hate, destruction, and oppression, is there a point to being overly excited and eager about the seemingly more “non-essential” things like art and hobbies?
In the same way that sci-fi has inspired a lot of real-life scientific and technological advancements, maybe it’s the ability to dream and to fuel change with stubborn hope against the odds that distinguishes us from our machines (electric sheep dreams or not). At several points in history, someone made something that significantly meant something to more people beyond its time. Maybe the flow state of our well-meaning fandoms and our sense of community is us leaving beacons for our future selves and everyone and everything we care about in case we get lost somewhere along the way. Maybe the more honest we are, the clearer the message, and the better the chances of echolocating back home—wherever, whoever, or whatever form that may be.
Signs Fiction 4 runs until May 6, 2024 at Altro Mondo at The Picasso, Makati City.
Nikki is a writer and communicator who likes to write about science, art, and nature. During the day, she works full-time for a digital PR agency.
Images from the exhibit courtesy of Altro Mondo.
Images of the film posters courtesy of Tof Zapanta.