14 May-4 July 2026
Between Seeing and Remembering
Erwin Canlas and Rose Cameron
Two artists, Rose Cameron and Erwin Canlas, are moving from opposite directions: one from erasure to trying to find a way back home; one from clarity attempting to find new identities.
Rose Cameron’s practice follows her return to the Philippines after decades of estrangement. Her paintings are marked by layered lines that conceal an identity once suppressed for survival, positioning abstraction as protection. Her work moves toward reclamation, piecing together a past through color and form.
Erwin Canlas’ work reconfigures his background in commercial photography into a process of visual deconstruction, using light and movement to bring objects into new states of being. His pieces resist the demands of legibility often tied to economic imperatives. He allows images to drift away from fixed meaning, freeing them from the burden of representation.
The exhibit witnesses an intersection of these two paths: in the middle, we see traces of flowers—their contours and light; there are directions to a dried-up pond; faceless portraits; forms blurred, concealed, and fragmented.
Amid these images of in-betweens, the viewers take part in the act of recovering and shedding—while suspended in this transitory moment, we see what is left, and ultimately, what is important.
Text by Carla Gamalinda
Sina Rose Cameron at Erwin Canlas ay nagmumula sa magkasalungat na direksyon: ang isa ay galing sa pagkabura ng alaala patungo sa paghahanap ng daan pabalik; at ang isa ay mula naman sa paglilinaw at patungo naman sa pagtuklas ng panibagong pagkakakilanlan.
Sa kanyang pagsasanay ng sining, nagbabalik si Rose Cameron sa bayang sinilangan matapos ang ilang dekada ng pagkawalay. Ang kanyang mga obra ay binubuo ng mga pinagpatong patong na linyang nagkukubli sa katauhang minsan nang naisantabi para sa pansariling kaligtasan.. Ang mga imaheng nilalaman ng kanyang mga dibuho ay siyang uri ng proteksyon na kung saan ang abstraksiyon ay nagsisilbing kanlungan mula sa nakaraan. Ang mga ito ay unti-unting binubuong muli ang mga pira-pirasong alaala na umaalalay sa paglikha ng daan patungo sa kanyang pinagmulan.
Samantala, ibinabalangkas ni Erwin Canlas ang kaniyang kaalaman sa komersyal na potograpiya upang tumuklas ng panibagong proseso ng biswal na dekonstruksyon. Gamit ang ilaw at mosyon, inililihis ni Canlas ang anyo ng mga pamilyar na bagay upang makabuo ng mga imaheng bumabaklas mula sa bagahe ng representasyon at tumutugon sa tungkuling pang-ekonomiya sa produksyon ng sining.
Ang presentasyong ito ay nagtatagpo sa bagtasan ng dalawang landas. Sa gitna ng mga obra ay matatagpuan ang mga bakas ng bulaklak, mga mukhang walang anyo, malalabong hugis, at isang tuyong lawa—mga imaheng nakasabit sa pagitan ng paglitaw at pagkawala. Sa pagitan nito, nagiging kalahok ang mga manonood sa mga proseso ng pagbawi at pagbitaw.
Isinulat ni Carla Gamalinda
Rose Cameron (Born 1965 in Manila, Philippines; lives and works in New York, USA) is a Filipino-American artist whose work explores memory, displacement, and identity through the lens of personal and collective history. At the age of twelve, Cameron immigrated to the United States amid political unrest, carrying a single bag and no expectation of return. The rupture of leaving her homeland—and the vivid, formative experiences of her childhood—continues to shape the emotional and narrative core of her studio practice. She received degrees in Fine Arts and Art History from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. Further studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design expanded her practice into architecture, interior design, and marketing, leading to a distinguished career in fashion, design, and advertising, where she received multiple industry honors and awards. Cameron’s work has been exhibited extensively in the United States and internationally, including presentations at major institutions and participation in prominent art fairs across New York, Singapore, Indonesia, Manila, and beyond. She is a recipient of the Luxembourg Art Prize Certificate of Achievement and her work is held in numerous private and public collections worldwide, including cultural centers and embassies, universities, and medical institutions. She has also curated exhibitions in collaboration with former First Lady Michelle Obama, reflecting her engagement with art as a platform for dialogue and advocacy.
Erwin Canlas (Born 1993 in Manila, Philippines; lives and works in Manila, Philippines) is a photographer based in Manila, known for his distinct balance of precision and experimentation. His work is defined by clean yet unconventional imagery, reflecting a deep engagement with the aesthetics of youth and freedom—both as subjects and sensibilities. His approach to photography brings elements of rebellion and takes on an elegant form where individuality is captured in its raw and expressive state. Beyond his commercial practice, Canlas’ artistic approach is shaped by a constant push against the expected. His photographs embrace imperfection and fluidity, challenging the rigid structures of control and convention.. He is drawn to the tension between clarity and distortion, allowing his work to exist in the space between the polished and the unrestrained. Canlas received his degree from the University of Asia and the Pacific and later studied photography at the University of the Arts London – Central Saint Martins. His evolving practice continues to investigate contemporary visual culture through a lens that is both refined and instinctively experimental.
Rose Cameron,'Nagtatago I', 2024
Erwin Canlas,'Sa Dapithapon o Sa Bukang Liwayway', 2025
Erwin Canlas,'Auroras', 2025
Erwin Canlas,'It Will Never Wither in Red', 2024
Rose Cameron,'The Sweetest Hour', 2024
Erwin Canlas,'A Moment of Clarity', 2025
Rose Cameron,'Whispers Of Yesterday', 2024
Rose Cameron,'The Sound Of A Secret', 2025
Rose Cameron,'Sampaguita Interrupted', 2026
Erwin Canlas,'It Will Never Wither in Black and White', 2024