BDO Unibank, Inc. brings the kinetic sculpture of Filipino artist David Medalla, Cloud Canyons No. 31, to the Philippines and has found its permanent home at the lobby of the BDO Corporate Center in Ortigas.
David Medalla has practiced his craft abroad for most of his life. He moved to London in 1960. His art works were showcased in some of the most important art exhibits during the 60s and 70s in Europe and USA.
Cloud Canyons No. 31
The frothing mouth of a dying Japanese soldier, clouds during tropical sunsets in Manila, the bubbling guinataan of his mother's cooking, a visit to a brewery in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the skyline of New York are images which Medalla relate to the creation of his work Cloud Canyons. First made in 1961 as Cloud Canyons: An Ensemble of Bubble Machines (Auto-Creative Sculptures), and initially exhibited in 1964 at the Signals Gallery in London, the present work is this evanescent sculpture's 31st version.
The Cloud Canyons is a kinetic sculpture that continually recreates itself. I did not pass up the chance to have my portrait taken framed by the bubbles that were gone after a few minutes and has formed a different shape.
The Cloud Canyons is one of David Medalla's seminal art works. It was Medalla's attempt to give tangible form to invisible forces... find a model that would show the transformation of matter into energy.
This kinetic sculpture works using air compressors to propel a solution of soap and water through large Perspex tubes. It produces a number of soapy clouds and towers of burbling effervesce. The admixture of bubbles and foam presents the audience with a sculptural form that rises to great heights and then bend, or break, slide down, and eventually disappear. Each time the bubbles are set in motion, what slowly emerges from the tubes are shapes, always unknown.
David Medalla is recognized as an important figure in the development of installation, kinetic and participatory art. His practice challenges the idea of sculpture as solid, timeless, and monumental by producing objects and situations that will never be exactly repeated and are continually changing form.
Other Cloud Canyons can be found in the collections of Tate Modern and National Gallery Singapore.
Cloud Canyons No. 31 is a rare sight and very historically important work of art. It gives BDO great pleasure to make it available for all to see. Visit the BDO Corporate Center Ortigas lobby and marvel at this creation.