Virtual exhibit blooms with Philippine flora artwork by local artists

The Philippine Botanical Art Society (PhilBAS), in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs, launched a new online exhibit that showcases botanical artworks by Filipino artists.

Philippine Flora: An Online Botanical Art Exhibition is every plantito and plantita’s dream exhibit, and features colorful renditions of Philippine endemic and indigenous flora by 96 Filipino artists.

Photo from website

The online display also contains a 360-degree virtual tour that is accessible through their website, which was developed by artist and PhilBAS member Issay Rodriquez. 

From May 29 to June 29, guests can view the complete collection of over 140 paintings depicting the lush species of flora in the Philippines. These include the jade vine or tayabak, rose grape or kapa-kapa, and Vanda sanderiana or waling-waling, which can only be found in the country and nowhere else in the world.

In a virtual opening ceremony held through Zoom, Bing Famoso, founder of PhilBAS, said that the society is determined to revive the botanical art style in hopes of encouraging local artists to capture the beauty of native flora in this art form. 

The exhibit aims to “create awareness about the rich biodiversity of the Philippines, specifically endemic and indigenous flora species.”

It is rooted from PhilBAS’ advocacy to encourage the appreciation of native flora by Filipinos and to raise awareness about their endangered status.

The Philippines is one of the 17 mega-diverse countries in the world along with Indonesia and Malaysia. However, the rich biodiversity of the country is challenged by destructive human activities such as poaching, illegal logging, and clearing of forests.

The online exhibit strives to address these. Famoso said that using visual arts to raise conservation awareness is effective as it “inspires people to be engaged in environmental problems and allows them to think of potential solutions to these issues.” She said that depicting native flora through the medium gives people “unlimited access to its beauty and importance.”

“Photographs, drawings, and paintings help to constantly remind us not only of its beauty, but more notably of its importance to our forest ecosystem and natural heritage,” she said. – Rappler.com

John Patrick Magno Ranara is a Rappler intern.