Reading Photographs

22/05/2026

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Can We Stay Here? (A work in progress film by Martika Escobar) screened over at AAG and presented by .ph

I went in because it is a Neal Oshima documentary. As somebody who wants material about Philippine Photography injected to my veins, I had to go. The thing about Photographer documentary films is they tend to focus on the personality rather than the work. Director Martika Escobar brings her brand of experimental film making focusing on the near infinite stories that Neal has with his 40 year career and mountains of work. It felt like reading Szarkowski’s looking at photographs but about Neal’s story of the images he made and the stories that came with it.

A refreshing experimental approach that tackles that a photographer’s life is perpetually stuck in Act 2. It is a constant work in progress and an adventure of a life lived with photography.

Will try to see how this work gets iterated as time goes on and they gather new material with each new screening and new story that Neal shows. Producer Erwin Romulo has a long (but fun!) task ahead of him and I hope to follow along.
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Brain fart aside: Maybe the Act 3 of this people telling stories about Neal? Idk. Martika doesn’t operate that way but let’s see. Exciting times ahead.
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27/04/2026

TYWTSBND by over at the

Wow. What can you say about a work that asks you to just listen?

Dennese Victoria took on this behemoth of a task of making sense and transforming this gargantuan project by Geloy from the web and the page to an actual space.

It showcases the photos and words of course but it also invites you to be part of the process in real time. To put yourself in Geloy’s seat to read a universe of things that should have been said, make something from it (or even share your own), and then share it back with the world.

The beautiful thing about this is it shows what keeps Geloy going: the little beautiful things about existing and family. It’s just sad that a fundamental requirement of existing such as a support system is absent in so many. The project wouldn’t have worked otherwise.

I guess that’s what the work stands for, to be a little kinder others and a little braver to say things before we can’t anymore.
Many things will be said about this project ( 1 on 1 with Geloy last 25th hopefully it will be available online). It is ever evolving and constantly moving but this version of it will live on my head for a while. Must visit. Until July 12.

P.S.
Look for Den’s “curatorial notes” in the workplace area of the exhibition. She made a beautiful object in trying to understand this work. Give it a read 🫡
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21/03/2026

My contribution to the Jeju Biennale in understanding the history of Philippine photography is now up on Writing Foto 🫡

By A. G. De Mesa [This paper was first presented at Jeju Biennale 2025 conference; images courtesy of Veejay Villafranca.] To understand Philippine photography is to participate in the ebbs and flo…

07/03/2026

Late Edition - 2026 Arts Month

Ever since I started treating the arts month (and going to the art fair) as a season opener rather than a huge spectacle I found myself enjoying it more.

For this year, I was at the fair with my mom. She showed me where I got the penchant for “reading” art. Centering the experience on an individual level makes me enjoy it than looking for patterns and connections. But I just can’t help it.

I was reflecting on the experience and the activities leading up to and during the arts month, the question that keeps popping up in my head is: who gets to pay, who gets to play, who gets to stay?

The PH photoland infrastructure exists because of the work happening behind the scenes. The hours of curation, coordination, and communication for a show and/or program depends on the workers making it all happen. As the PH economy moves into a K-shaped economy, the difference in how art will be accessed and experienced will be more jarring across different social strata. How tongue-in-cheek it is that the venue for this year’s fair is an office building turned into art booths with panoramic views of middle-class residences.

As a practitioner, how will you get your work displayed at the fair? Do you even get to be at the fairs and events in the first place? How many people have been driven away by the ticket prices, or felt that the experience was incomplete despite the existence of free programs?

The chatter I heard during the month says a lot. At the very least, I’m happy seeing friends make sales and photographers I haven’t heard in a long time show work. There’s a reason why The Standard by P. Wangprasertakul became a talking point amongst the middle class, whilst the works that tickled the upper class’ fancy are the ones you see every day outside the confines of masterplanned districts anyway. One you can identify, whilst the other gets novelized and aestheticized. Maybe this divide I’m seeing is just in my head, but it is something I will be watching as we navigate the year. I feel PH Photoland is at the cusp of something and I will be excited when it finally happens.
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02/02/2026

- .ph Atelier 2026

Accessibility and authorship.
That was the thread I kept returning to after the three Atelier talks.
Who has the story?
Who gets to tell it?
And how does it get told?

Off the Court made me think about access. About female sports photographers struggling to get passes. About athletes relying on photographers to hold their stories of victory and defeat. About sports photography beyond the spectacle. The creative direction of .room ties it all together with how the PH brand of basketball feels close to our lived experience: A community powering forward through thick and thin.

Post-War Visions, ‘s deep dive into postwar Filipina photographers, is a research I have been eagerly following. It has grown to not just be about the photographers, it also became about the custodians of memory. About archives, care, and what survives. In the absence of a substantial body of work, what remains is resonance. The way these women’s presence rippled through the lives of the people they photographed, as remembered by those who kept their stories alive. It reminded me of photography’s democracy and its ability to reverberate even when images are lacking. Cheers to you sister Socorro and Ms. “Smile” Perla 📸 Hope we find more of you and your contemporaries.

During the Imagining the Filipino Spirit panel, one question stayed with me: How do we imagine the Filipino spirit when the body itself is starving?
I find myself returning to Alice Guillermo and social realism, I had to stop myself from spiraling as I see connections and new ideas using it as a framework in looking into human interest photography.

So I ask again.
Who has the story?
Who gets to tell it?
How does it get told?
Photography is deceptive in its simplicity, and complicated in what it carries.
Let me “art walk” this off for now but as always, the conversation continues.
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22/01/2026

Check this talk out of the day by the P*P and Michelle Meñez:
“How Photography Reframes the Circular Economy”

A reflection on how photojournalism shapes what becomes visible, valued, and remembered.

Drawing from nearly a decade of working across circular economy practice, environmental storytelling, and the built environment.

Centro de Turismo, Intramuros
February 7, 2026 | 10:00–11:00 AM

If you’re interested in how art, photography, and sustainability intersect and how they help us imagine the future.

Pre-register here: https://lnkd.in/gAPuTnnj
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20/01/2026

Currently helping out in the Family of Man Legacy project with researcher Emilia Sanchez [ .morning ] 📸 if you or anyone you know have any memorabilia, photos, stories, or information about the Manila leg of the exhibition let us know! Links about the project will be on the bio as well 🫡📸

I don’t usually ask this but Would appreciate if you can spread the word about it too!
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13/12/2025

Late edition - Mga Munting alaala by .ericbico over at

We come to existence as clean slates but like anything that it exists, we gather many things: Time, memories, wounds, etc.

Bico weaves all of them through photos of their water damaged, decades old family album that look like scabs that eventually become scars. He uses images of pleasant memories of self and of friends as a balm for these wounds. Interspersed with the most intimate of spaces, the bed and the most vivid memories in the form of a video collage. It culminates with their avatar of courage, Manikween, performing for Bico’s curated list of videoke favorites set in a typical videoke bar you’ll see in the metro.

The ritual of friendship, cementing memory, and making meaning through images cements my belief that community happens when you care. It is through caring about your work, your life, and others you affect not seeing the effort as inconvenience but as a way of gathering memories through our life’s journey.

Absolutely beautiful, tender, and appropriate in our current social climate.

It runs until Dec. 20th. Please come and view the works and sing some songs.

02/12/2025

Finally published part 3 of my on the road adventures. This took a long time to publish as I also had to confront my own self and practice with how curated the entire show.
This one wraps up siem reap. Pt. 4 hopefully comes out before the year ends.
This should be out on your inboxes or if you haven’t, link in the bio 🫡📸📖

16/09/2025

Applications are open of the day:

We invite photographers of all Asian nationalities aged 21+ to apply for the 21st Angkor Photo Workshop, to be held from 30 January to 8 February 2026 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.