In this solo online release by Bayawak, grief is love that persists. The show foregrounds the inevitable affinity between the two emotional states by framing love not only as an encounter of tenderness, but also of heartache, loss, and anguish.
The conceptual thrust of the release is primarily informed by the artist’s personal context. Having gone through a time of struggle, the artist conceived the show as an expression of gratitude to his loved ones—his family, friends, and pets—who helped him through adversity.
At times cuddly, at times grotesque, his figures demonstrate this continuing push-pull between fondness and tragedy. Bayawak communicates this through a painterly scheme that oscillates between the two states: a tenor of longing permeates his works, all concealed by the language of affection that marks the characters on his canvases.
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