Uplifting the community through art

Jinggoy Buensuceso and his Ikigai at Filinvest City

As a community that has long built safe public spaces even before the pandemic, Filinvest City recognizes the value of art for its citizens, adding commissioned pieces from renowned local artists for public spaces.

Among the featured works is one by visual artist and sculptor Jinggoy Buensuceso, whose commissioned work “Ikigai” stands at the corner of Corporate and Parkway Avenues.

Buensuceso works primarily with wood, cement and metal and further honed his craft in Singapore and New York where he was based early in his career.

His Ikigai sculpture was inspired by crumpled paper. Buensuceso used powder-coated aluminum to withstand outdoor elements and painted it in his signature shade of red to depict a strong passion for life and emotion.

“Artists, architects, engineers, songwriters, poets, even lovers, use paper for writing plans or ideas. If they’re not happy with their idea, they crumple the paper and throw it away. That meaningful moment was what I wanted to capture because I consider that journey to perfection,” he said.

Buensuceso worked on this for more than five months and says his red sculpture is meant to serve as “food for the soul” for the people of Filinvest City.

He adds: “Art is important. If you see an art piece, it evokes different emotions, it helps you learn and sometimes it even answers your questions. I’m happy that many companies are now investing in public art because it gives people easy access to works of art.”

For its part, Filinvest City shares Buensuceso’s vision in using art as a form of expression and even entertainment. Vice president for townships Don Ubaldo says, “Filinvest City’s master plan is to be a central business district, but we also want to provide more than the essentials for conducting business. One of our first efforts in making Filinvest City a vibrant live-work-play community is the presence of public art.

Having art that is freely accessible within the community not only triggers cultural consciousness but also promotes the community’s collective identity – one that instills a sense of pride, belonging and human connection even amidst a pandemic. Filinvest City is that place where people want to work, live and visit.”

Source: https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/travel-and-tourism/2020/07/23/2029846...