Macao: A Small Binocular
With Which We See the Entire World
ON THE ART OF OSCAR BALAJADIA
by Patricia Lemos of Hoje Macau (Macao Today)
translated (from Portuguese) by Papa Osmubal
reprinted with permission

"Lotus"

To talk about the Philippines is not easy for Oscar Balajadia. His voice trembles, and, despite his almost perfect English, the words jostle. He strongly underlines the fact that in his country people do not know who they are and where they are heading for. His mission in Macau is to let the world know of the malfeasances scattering in the Philippines. Drawing and writing are his forms of expression.
Residing in Macao for almost 10 years now, Balajadia explained that the local artists do not cohabit, or very little if they do at all. They work and create alone, but this is what each one prefers to advance and treat his/her art. On the other side, he admits the artists feel secure in Macao, where they can create freely. In Macao, he says, artists see the entire world through binoculars.

"Pisces"

The frames (80 in all) that graced the UNESCO Center (of Macao) in one exhibit called "White and Black", held early 2004, are the fruit of his life in Macao: "This region made me a different person, but it did not get rid of the essentials". Now he says he knows better what it means to be Portuguese and/or Chinese. Now he understands the two cultures. He admits of spending good time in this world of two cultures. But he confesses that the lights of Lisbon did not tempt him as did the dimness of Porto, where the people work hard but know how to make merry.

The quotidian admixtures that he sees in the streets of Macao are somehow present in each of the 80 frames, which he did between 2001 and 2003, although he drew many of them just last year after leaving his job at Livraria São Paulo, after long years of service. All that in favor of art and literature: "I need more time to create."

"Genesis"

Everything was visible in the work of this Filipino. Labyrinths overcast by abstractionism, lotus flowers celebrating the local Chinese tradition and humor of cartoons, "because sometimes I flaunt my anxieties with a smile."

DREAMS IN BLACK AND WHITE

The mark of his artwork is black and white. He says that one does not dream in colors. He observes that there are artists who hide their emptiness in the harmony of colors. This Filipino has another purpose with his work that is a bit childish: "to be blinded by colors is something I would not like to happen." But then after confessing this he said that he does not have enough technical knowledge in art: "I am self-taught and do not have academic formation in this area. (Of course I also) dream that one day I put true color into these drawings, and I need formal training."

"Bird"

Abstraction offers various teachings to an individual and this is the school that seems to influence the work of Balajadia. Carefully organized, the forms are a bit angular and speak of the mystery of labyrinths, where Filipinos are lost searching: "The people do not know who they are. Creativity is not in the hands of the middle and low classes, who fight for their survival. The rich and very rich are the ones producing art in the Philippines. And this hardly expresses the truth."

His pain deepens when talking about his people here: "The Filipinos in Macau are not united; they do not even know why they are here. They should find a way on how to solve the problems of our country." But, he laments, many Filipinos think they already solved their problems once they got out of the Philippines.

"Night Sky"

As for now, he feels his mission is partly accomplished through the poetry of Parnaso and Lighthouse, the two books that he wrote, the product of his Philosophical studies and of his short stint in studying Political Science. Drawing and painting are gained outside his academic trainings. But the journey is still very long and Balajadia dreams of a day when his art and literature give voice to the mute cry of his people: "By simply remembering my motherland, I would like to presume that I am not alone."

© Patricia Lemos

OSCAR BALAJADIA, a resident of Macao, South China, in early 2004 had a solo art exhibition entitled White and Black at the UNESCO Center in Macao, through the sponsorship of Fundação Macau (Macao Foundation).

More prolific in the literary field, he has already published two books of poetry under his pen name Papa Osmubal. They are Parnaso, in Pilipino (1991, Angeles City, Philippines) and Lighthouse, in English (1999, Quezon City, Philippines). His poems have been accepted by Asian literary journals, such as the Singapore Literary Journal, Snow Monkey, Fine Line, Wild East (Hong Kong Literary Circle). and have also appeared in Philippine Graphics, National Midweek and Philipine Free Press. On the web he has published at http://dalityapi.tripod.com/,
http://www.geocities.com/birdandegg/birdandegg.html,
http://www.spreadhead.virtualave.net,
http://www.retortmagazine.com/content/03.04/id_poetry_osmubal.htm,
http://www.jacobytebooks.com/poetry/,
http://www.oovrag.com/poems/poems2004b-balajadia.shtml.

He has just finished writing the manuscript of his next book entitled Voice in the Air.