In the 80s, I spent my childhood running through the sugarcane fields and rice plantations of Manapla, Negros Occidental and being immersed and inspired by folktales about the tiktik, the tamawo, the manananggal, alongside Filipino komiks, and fantasy and horror movies.

Visions of monsters and creatures gave me joy and company during the slow days and the quiet nights. Walking home alone, I imagined creatures high above the trees watching me. When I fell sick, I saw giant rocks floating above my head. I saw myself as a small speck at the center of an infinite horizon.

Across green fields and blue skies, my fantasies ran wild. What if dogs had wings? Can cats have horns? Do kittens grew up to be tigers?

Imaginary creatures living in landscapes that blur reality and imagination, painted and inked using drafting techniques and spread across canvas, furniture, and sculpture, sealed in resin: my fantasies frozen in space and time. To be seen. To be touched. To be lived.

I am the architect of my fantasies, my reality, and my world.

And everyone’s invited.

Words by Alan Navarra