WSK artists hammer down walls at the speed of sound

Words by MARGA MAGALONG | Photos by MIGUEL TARROSA

 

We’ve all heard the phrase “art mirrors life” from cookie-cutter Art teachers in grade school. Sound art collective WSK begs to disagree. Their name itself is a stylized acronym for wasak, following the ethos that “art is a hammer.” The collective aims to make art that shatters norms and primitive notions in order to “make space for growth.”

WSK’s Tengal Drilon, founder and curator, says the collective hopes to “shatter notions of what art should be and what art could be — and a lot of that is limited to work that is not so much experimental.” Inside the mind of an art collector, a lot is at stake when you’re investing in the avant-garde. Erick adds, “It’s kind of ironic to talk about it in the art fair.”

 

The collective WSK could be the next big hammer to shake things up in the art world through their ingenious utilization of interactive installations and otherwise ordinary sounds. Their end goal is “for collectors to look into more experimental media.”

The artworks of WSK are known to exude the personality of its artists. This is especially seen through the humor in Tad Ermitaño’s “Sex to Speech,” an animation that features a voice over of the long-forgotten sex scandal of Ferdinand Marcos. Erick of WSK would like spectators to cringe upon hearing “Sex to Speech,” which is likely, with the dialogue resembling a badly written porno.

For the spectator who is, in this case, listening more than looking, WSK hopes to provoke “disgust, annoyance, fascination…and humor.” Hang around their gallery long enough, you’ll get what they mean.

 

WSK’s exhibit at Art Fair Philippines is curated by Tengal Drilon and Erwin Romulo. Catch WSK’s project at the 6th floor, The Link Carpark, Makati City in this year’s Art Fair Philippines. Art Fair is open today until February 19. For more information, visit http://www.artfairphilippines.com, Facebook/artfairph, Twitter artfairph, Instagram @artfairph.