Swing Set: Share a Share (Duyan: Ibahagi ang Balato)
Steel, wood, concrete, and artificial turf

Gift of the Bower
Locke Surls Center for Art and Nature @ Splendora Gardens
26041 Midline Rd, Cleveland, TX 77328
https://giftfromthebower.org/

"A Gift from the Bower" opened April 22-23 at the Locke Surls Center for Art and Nature! This sculptural celebration of James Surls' 80th birthday included paintings of the bower installations by Brian Zievert and performances in many of the bowers activating the sculptures!

It has been an honor to be part of this project and to get to collaborate with @marilou_is_mariko and @filipinxartistsofhouston . In Bower #10, my sculpture "Swing Set: Share a Share (Duyan: Ibahagi ang Balato)” welcomes viewers to sit, swing, and share. This sculpture will be at LSCAN for two years with Public Hours: Saturdays, 11am–4pm thru October 28, 2023.

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

This sculptural installation features a swing set composed of twenty seats.  Inspired by roundabouts where drivers must communicate through eye contact and hand gestures in order 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. 

Also in Bower #10 Special performances of “Gamba” choreographed by Marilou Mariko Carrera were shared during the opening weekend. Inspired by the spider-like shape of the sculpture in nature and the Philippine folktale about the creation of the spider, the performance explores the possibilities of healing after trauma, specifically through play and community building.

THANK YOU to performers Marilou Mariko Carrera, Cybil Saenz, Trisha Morales, Nikki DeOcampo, and Rea Sampilo with documentation by Christian Toledo, Alejandro Saenz Jr., and Apologia Pallugna-Saenz. (Full recording and post-performance discussion will be posted soon)

THANK YOU to all the participating Bower artists, to DiverseWorks, to co-curators Xandra Eden and Jack Massing, and to Charmaine Locke and James Surls for this unique opportunity and celebration!