Jon Jaylo: Enigmatic Imageries – Yahoo! Philippines News

Like magic tricks that make the audience catch its breath and ogle at the same time is the dreamy and whimsical oeuvre of contemporary visual artist Jon Jaylo. His are works that beautifully play around men’s subconscious and societal issues and are filled with chimerical representations and imageries bound to puzzle. They are narratives, drawn heavily in realist-meets-surrealist manner, of the artist himself, of his friends, of you and me. But Jaylo’s pieces are not just out there to hang pretty in white-walled galleries and huge spaces. In fact, the artist posits that his paintings are akin to a book of knowledge and secrets that inspires, touches, and teaches.

At the onset however, the young Jaylo didn’t really see himself pursuing and creating art to open up healthy discourse among his audiences and to contribute a positive impact to society, as he is doing at present. Rather, Jaylo was then painting for a wrong reason-to gain fame and glory. He didn’t achieve them though, if only because he felt that he didn’t deserve those gifts at the time. Why?

Because he was such in a mad dash to be recognized. It also didn’t help that during his college days that he fit the mold of a typical angst-ridden teenager-rebellious and fond of wreaking havoc wherever his foot takes him. Although Jaylo was a regular at art competitions and was easily exposed to the art circuit, it is only now that he is fully reaping the fruits of his labor.

A son of a policeman, Jaylo admits that art has mellowed him down and has given him focus. ”When I was starting, pasaway ako-makulit, nakikipagsuntukan, basagulero, laging umiinom. Gusto ko ang art dati para sumikat,” he reminisces. ”Hindi binigay sa akin ng Diyos ‘yung kasikatan kasi alam niya na I don’t deserve it. Mas lalo lang sigurong magugulo ang buhay ko noon. Ngayon, naiintindihan ko na na ang art ay hindi lang para sa akin kundi para sa lahat. It is something that you have to treasure and take care of. When you are given the talent to paint, to draw…it follows that you should use it in the right way.”

It took a couple of years for Jaylo to re-enter the art scene, though. Before he could finish his advertising course at the Far Eastern University, Jaylo had already put up a business of his own that specializes in airbrushing techniques. He became busy with that and with other business ventures as well. It was the photograph of an artwork of his college (drinking) buddy Andres Barrioquinto that prodded Jaylo to wield his brush again. He immediately called Barrioquinto. ”He told me that they’re having a group show and that I may join them,” Jaylo says. This was in 2003.

”That’s how I started. I guess I really love painting that much so I wasn’t hesitant to join the group show. In fact, I was ecstatic about it. Talagang gusto ko ng magpinta dahil matagal akong namahinga. I missed it,” Jaylo shares.

Seven years after, Jaylo is already one of the most sought-after artists in the country. Many art patrons are now lining up to collect his theatric oil opuses, which triumph this lofty regard for both aesthetics and substance. They are the embodiment of a sound and cohesive marriage of good technical know-how and of a cerebral philosophy that is seemingly deep-rooted in the sentiments and causes of social realism. Dreamlike yet convincingly real, Jaylo’s nostalgic works mirror life’s sad and vicious realities, man’s desire and fantasies coupled with inspired ”manifestations of knowledge, the metaphysics of his own philosophy, and the resolving of experiences behind and even far beyond it.”

When asked why his artworks tend be somewhat social realist, Jaylo answers, ”I’d like to say that I’m part of the Philippines and that I’m a Filipino. I don’t want to make money out of painting and not care about my surroundings or my kapwa Pinoys. I’d like to make a point that I’m not just here to paint. I hope to be a positive influence to other people. Gusto ko na may purpose ako as a Filipino painter.” Testament to Jaylo’s aspiration of helping his fellow Filipinos is his earnest involvement with charity works and art projects such as Julius Babao’s recent ”Art2Heart” auction, where proceeds of the public sale helped out Ondoy victims through Gawad Kalinga.

Bizarre elements-a flying fish, eyeballs growing out from trees, floating alarm clocks, and, headless men in suits and in bowler hats, to name a few-dominate his art. These unexpected elements that stand as metaphors make Jaylo’s repertoire unpredictable and intellectually stimulating. Viewers would definitely have to exercise their brains when looking at a Jaylo original, as if they have to solve a Rubik’s Cube or put together a puzzle made up of many fragments. Also, brilliant and intense hues rendered in an irresistibly smooth and vivid fashion characterize the artist’s unique style.

Jaylo discloses that his use of surreal and hyperrealist elements onto his canvases is his attempt to make his pieces stirring and not as depressive as reality presents itself to be. ”’Yung mga nangyayari sa atin eh medyo masasakit at malulungkot. Pero ang iniisip ko lagi is how to make my pieces interesting. I have to find a way to make it look more whimsical. And yet, when you digest it, you’d realize that you can relate to it, that what I’m telling is not just my story but also yours,” he says. But one can opine that the artist’s preference for the surreal is not spawned by his need to showcase his commendable skills but more of his concepts, his vision.

Jaylo tells that his creative process is elaborate and ”bloody.” He reveals that he starts with an issue that he wants to tackle. Choosing his models, most of them fellow artists or belonging to the creative set, comes second. ”We hold a photo shoot after. It’s either we have to go outside or do it inside a studio. When the picture is taken, I fix it and lay it out. Once I like the composition already, that’s when I start painting,” he explains.

Sometimes though, Jaylo literally gets impetus while in slumber. The minute he wakes up, he tries to chase his dreams and draws them roughly in the sketchpad or notebook that he keeps near his bed.

For the artist, an image or an idea can stare at you right in the face whenever and wherever, even when you’re happily driving to the mall or just strolling outside, so you have to capture it on paper.

And what of his art? Jaylo offers that at its core are lessons in life we ought to know about and things that we refuse to see and become apathetic of. ”We cannot commit all the mistakes in the world. At one point, we have to learn from someone else by, say, looking at a painting. That’s my art’s purpose.

Kapag nakakapag-inspire ako, naki-kwento ko ‘yung napagdaraanan ng lahat…alam kong nakatutulong ako sa iba. Napakahalaga noon sa akin. At sana ‘yun ang maging papel ko, ng mga gawa ko hanggang sa mawala na ako sa mundong ito,” he reasons.

Just like his idol, Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte, who once said that life obliges him to do something so he paints, Jaylo continues to create art not only because life asks him to but because he genuinely cares.

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Anyone know how to do this?

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