Swing Set: Share a Share (Duyan: Ibahagi ang Balato)

Swing Set: Share a Share (Duyan: Ibahagi ang Balato) is my addition to A Gift from the Bower exhibition at Locke and Surls Center for Art and Nature, Splendora, Texas. Show curated by Xandra Eden, Executive Director at Diverseworks in Houston, Texas; sculptor James Surls; and sculptor Jack Massing.
April 2023 - April 2025

Black metal playset in the woods, with two circular rows of swings.

People fill every swing in the playset. A person squats on the ground in the lower left, taking a picture of the full group.

Person swinging on a seat with colorful streamers attached to the bottom of the seat.

This sculptural installation features a swing set composed of twenty seats. Inspired by roundabouts where drivers must communicate through eye contact and hand gestures to navigate the junctures between roads safely, in Share a Share, participants need to communicate as they share their part of the swing set. The swing set challenges participants to engage actively, to look around, and to be aware of others when experiencing the sculpture. Visually inspired by gothic architecture and spider’s legs and webs, the structure holding up the swings locks together into a geometric pattern that radiates from the hub of this sculptural wheel. The wood seats of the swing are carved, sculpted, and personalized by members of the Filipinx Artists of Houston. Each seat is a portrait - a story. These voices share the swing set as a community whose backgrounds and lived experiences have been translated into a space where each story contributes to the collective.

Timelapse video of two people moving around a large play set - one person on a ladder and one person on the ground providing support.

Gamba

Gamba is a movement-based story developed by Marilou Mariko Carrera, a Filipinx-Japanese queer artist based in Chicago, IL, in collaboration for A Gift from the Bower exhibition at the Locke Surles Center for Arts and Nature in Splendora, TX.

Gamba explores themes of healing and community in response to a Filipino folktale that tells the story of the creation of the spider. Kapwa is a Filipino concept that speaks to how we can see that we are the same as one another and still ourselves, without judging / retraumatizing / acting from a punitive place. Gamba’s movements and numerous orientations look at play, engagement, and integration of Filipino martial arts movement as vehicles for healing and honoring Kapwa after trauma.

LOCKE SURLS CENTER for ART and NATURE (LSCAN)

Locke Surls Center for Art and Nature (LSCAN) is a multi-dimensional artistic space created with the express purpose of reconnecting our community with nature and human artistic expression, through direct immersion in the Piney Woods of East Texas, and an intimate engagement with art and the artist.

Duyan will be at LSCAN for two years with public hours on Saturdays, 11am-4pm through October 28, 2023. Please visit lockesurlscenter.com to learn more!

DIVERSE WORKS

Founded by artists in 1982, DiverseWorks is nationally known for its ground-breaking programming; as a resource for the innovative and meaningful engagement of communities; and as a force that has shaped contemporary thought and practice in Houston and the nation.

Check out our bower presentation at the exhibit opening in April at https://giftfromthebower.org/bower-10-leticia-r-bajuyo/

Special Thanks to:

Locke Surles Center for Arts & Nature Splendora, TX

Diverse Works Houston, TX

Filipinx Artists of Houston Houston, TX

School of Visual Arts at the University of Oklahoma Norman, OK

Joshua Hamilton
Aida Beth Bajuyo-Hamilton Dr. and Mrs. Hamilton
Dr. and Mrs. Bajuyo
Pete and Beth - ?McHugh Family
Cybil “ATEh UBEh” Pallugna-Saenz
Alex Saenz
Christian Toledo
Matt Manalo
Anthony Pabillano
Rea Sampilo
Trisha Morales
Nikki DeOcampo
Dr. Pat Lindsay "Pinky" C. Catalla-Buscaino
Tita Lorna Maza
Cyril Maza
Jenah Maravilla
RJ Coronado
Jerick Alegarbes
Hannah Medrano
Debbie Vu
Josh Johnson
Nico Herrera
Kim Miranda
Chelsea Battad John Catral