Cristina ‘Mac’ Valdezco’s sculptures and installations are often imbued with a certain anthropomorphism or suggestive of natural forms. Yet the artist works instinctively and does not begin with any pre-determined form for the final work; rather, she is guided by the tactile character of each material that she works with, usually an industrially manufactured and inexpensive material, be it metal nuts, bolts, or even paper cups. Here, hand-woven from thousands of nylon cords, Gumapang na Halimaw (Monster Monster) is evocative of the legion of fantastical beasts, spirits and demons that populate local legend and lore, creatures are also very much alive in Philippine popular culture and contemporary imagination. Plastic filaments are transformed into luminous curling tendrils and bulbous forms, and the wall-bound work is animated with an otherworldly quality, creeping, lizard-like, into home and abode.Cristina ‘Mac’ Valdezco (b. 1976, Philippines) obtained her BA at the Technological University of the Philippines, Manila. Since graduating, she has had several solo exhibitions in Manila, and participated in group shows in the Philippines and the region.
