In this exhibition Mythical Roots, Tapaya ventures as a bard, part Carlos Francisco, part Brenda Fajardo, that remembers and recounts the myths of creation: the great flood, the first woman, the primordial fire, the genesis of the banana plant, and other foundational fictions of the universe. And what makes Tapaya's work important and valuable is a certain flair in speaking to a folk aesthetic, which is not to be mistaken for a forced provincial, vernacular style. It might be part of his own humble sensibility, a particular homespun attitude toward the everyday life of his milieu as can be gleaned in a previous series. It might likewise be part of an engagement with tendencies in folk facture: how things are made in a particular way and with specific attention to such virtues as decoration. In fact, in Tapaya's repertoire, ornament is central or, better still, vital and can be discerned in the heady delineation of flora, which becomes a motif of a bounty's source that prospers like tropical vine crawling on the trellis of painting. There is also interest given to graphic expression that seems to mingle story-book fairy tale and komiks, marked by the severe miens of Manichaean characters, the wild whimsy of settlers, and a trace of epic unfolding across a fertile, cataclysmic frontier. In the main, the artist finds a suitable mode to realize his discourse, one that is robust and idiosyncratic, imbued with an acute sense of color and a density that is sometimes breathtaking.

Artist's Notes by Rodel Tapaya

There are so many creation myths. Each myth offers not only a story but a unique belief. Like a supernatural being when I finished an art piece, it is as if I am bringing forth a new creation. "Mythical Roots" explores the landscape of folk stories particularly myths. Selected stories become inspirations while works of art amplifies the folk narrative chosen.

The exhibit is composed of paintings, dioramas and (underglass paintings-to follow). For the paintings I tried to depict the richness of folk oral tradition through the colors and figures. I am the storyteller who gives life to the narrative. Though its not a primary concern, the story can be 'read' through clues and details, the process is cyclic or 'all over' and often times seen like a framework like a tree where details are branching out from the trunk.

Three works in this show are three-dimentional depiction of the mythology through diorama. Here the story becomes tangible, objectified through a historical device of diorama. A silver coated brass box with embossed ornaments houses each story. It's form resembles like an altar similar to the Christian churches. Yet instead of placing saints for adoration, I chose the pre-hispanic folk mythologies to live inside those houses.