Young Filipino artist wins billboard competition
03/29/2012
LONDON - An artwork created by a young Filipino student from Amsterdam will soon be up on giant billboards across the UK after being chosen as one of the winners of an art competition.
Seventeen year old Antonio Perez from International School of Amsterdam submitted two of his artwork for the “Who Are You?” competition by The Arts University College at Bournemouth (AUCB) and JCDecaux.
One of his works, a vibrant image of the sun rising behind clouds, was among the 25 shortlisted entries chosen by a panel of judges from the creative industries, including award-winning designer Morag Myerscough, urban artist Soap, arts writer Gavin Lucas, set designer Rhea Thiersten, creative agents Jono Hilt and Nick Mustoe, JCDecaux’s PR Manager Janet Guest, AUCB Deputy Principal Professor Jim Hunter, and AUCB Communication Manager Simon Pride.
“I love Antonio's bold use of color and graphic style. The idea of the sun shining from behind clouds is one that artists have looked at for hundreds of years, it has an iconic quality, reminding me that however hard it may be in the moment to stay positive, the sun is still there and will reappear. It is a really simple, strong illustration that will look fantastic on a billboard,” said Pride.
Following a public vote on social media Facebook, Perez’s work was revealed as one of the Top 10 winning entries, racking up an impressive 1,143 Likes at the time of publication, ahead of all the other entries.
“I felt shocked and overwhelmed of the outcome of the votes, not knowing there will be a lot of people that will be supporting me,” Perez told ABS-CBN Europe.
“I want to think that I won because they believe in my work and my belief, that there will come a time our countrymen will soon get out of their shell and work for the good of our Fatherland. I also have never won any public competitions before so this is a new experience to me especially winning something that I love to do best.”
On his inspiration for the winning piece, he said: “I thought about what the contest was all about, Who Am I? And thought, I am a Filipino and so I imagined my painting to be similar to the Philippine flag, which is one of the clearly familiar image of my country. So I used the sun and the colors of the flag to paint my piece with extra symbols showing that Philippines will soon reveal itself from concealment.”
Perez’s parents, Marino and Milagros, came from General Santos and Caloocan respectively, before settling in Cainta, Rizal after marriage. In 2006, the family moved to Singapore due to work commitments, followed by a relocation to Amstelveen in The Netherlands in 2010.
“We did not know that he entered his art work in a contest in UK. He only informed us when he received an e-mail from the school that his work was shortlisted as one of the top 25 and that it will be posted in Facebook,” recalled Mr. Perez.
“I was just so proud of his achievement. This is a rare event and it does not happen everyday. And the fact he was the only Filipino able to enter the top 10 spot, our kababayans in the UK should know that there will be billboards in the country and the artist is a 17-year-old Filipino.”
Other winning entries included works by young artists based in the UK, exploring their identities through photography, painting and digital art, using mixed images from fashion to forensic science, snapshots to body art, and words to nature.
“What immediately stood out was the quality and then the variety,” observed Pride, who conceptualized and organized the competition with his team at AUCB.
“Inevitably there will be as many answers to the question ‘Who Are You?’ as there are people, but we didn't expect such diversity. The energy, the humor, the charm, the cleverness, the beauty, the positivity and the skill all remind us what it is to be young, talented and fearless.”
He concluded: “The project was designed to give young people a giant platform for them to express and develop their talent, but much more than that, we got a wonderful story.”
"Who Are You?" is an art competition launched by AUCB, providers of specialist arts education in the UK, in association with JCDecaux, the largest outdoor advertising company in Europe. It aims to nurture young creative talent by providing a large-scale platform for their work.
This year’s Top 10 winning entries will be shown in billboards across England on 16-30 April, including spots in Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Southampton, Brighton, Guildford, Oxford, Bath, Bristol and Exeter.
A public exhibition will also be held on 25-28 April at The Arts University College at Bournemouth, in Dorset, southwest England.
One of his works, a vibrant image of the sun rising behind clouds, was among the 25 shortlisted entries chosen by a panel of judges from the creative industries, including award-winning designer Morag Myerscough, urban artist Soap, arts writer Gavin Lucas, set designer Rhea Thiersten, creative agents Jono Hilt and Nick Mustoe, JCDecaux’s PR Manager Janet Guest, AUCB Deputy Principal Professor Jim Hunter, and AUCB Communication Manager Simon Pride.
“I love Antonio's bold use of color and graphic style. The idea of the sun shining from behind clouds is one that artists have looked at for hundreds of years, it has an iconic quality, reminding me that however hard it may be in the moment to stay positive, the sun is still there and will reappear. It is a really simple, strong illustration that will look fantastic on a billboard,” said Pride.
Following a public vote on social media Facebook, Perez’s work was revealed as one of the Top 10 winning entries, racking up an impressive 1,143 Likes at the time of publication, ahead of all the other entries.
“I felt shocked and overwhelmed of the outcome of the votes, not knowing there will be a lot of people that will be supporting me,” Perez told ABS-CBN Europe.
“I want to think that I won because they believe in my work and my belief, that there will come a time our countrymen will soon get out of their shell and work for the good of our Fatherland. I also have never won any public competitions before so this is a new experience to me especially winning something that I love to do best.”
On his inspiration for the winning piece, he said: “I thought about what the contest was all about, Who Am I? And thought, I am a Filipino and so I imagined my painting to be similar to the Philippine flag, which is one of the clearly familiar image of my country. So I used the sun and the colors of the flag to paint my piece with extra symbols showing that Philippines will soon reveal itself from concealment.”
Perez’s parents, Marino and Milagros, came from General Santos and Caloocan respectively, before settling in Cainta, Rizal after marriage. In 2006, the family moved to Singapore due to work commitments, followed by a relocation to Amstelveen in The Netherlands in 2010.
“We did not know that he entered his art work in a contest in UK. He only informed us when he received an e-mail from the school that his work was shortlisted as one of the top 25 and that it will be posted in Facebook,” recalled Mr. Perez.
“I was just so proud of his achievement. This is a rare event and it does not happen everyday. And the fact he was the only Filipino able to enter the top 10 spot, our kababayans in the UK should know that there will be billboards in the country and the artist is a 17-year-old Filipino.”
Other winning entries included works by young artists based in the UK, exploring their identities through photography, painting and digital art, using mixed images from fashion to forensic science, snapshots to body art, and words to nature.
“What immediately stood out was the quality and then the variety,” observed Pride, who conceptualized and organized the competition with his team at AUCB.
“Inevitably there will be as many answers to the question ‘Who Are You?’ as there are people, but we didn't expect such diversity. The energy, the humor, the charm, the cleverness, the beauty, the positivity and the skill all remind us what it is to be young, talented and fearless.”
He concluded: “The project was designed to give young people a giant platform for them to express and develop their talent, but much more than that, we got a wonderful story.”
"Who Are You?" is an art competition launched by AUCB, providers of specialist arts education in the UK, in association with JCDecaux, the largest outdoor advertising company in Europe. It aims to nurture young creative talent by providing a large-scale platform for their work.
This year’s Top 10 winning entries will be shown in billboards across England on 16-30 April, including spots in Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Southampton, Brighton, Guildford, Oxford, Bath, Bristol and Exeter.
A public exhibition will also be held on 25-28 April at The Arts University College at Bournemouth, in Dorset, southwest England.
