I arrived at the interview with a sore back. I haven’t been sleeping well the past few days and I suspect it has something to do with this new consultancy job I took on which entails more desk work than I’m used to. I showed up at the Espinosa Arts and Design (EADE) showroom in Quezon City tired, but with a smile plastered on my face for the event. I was going to meet Clifford Espinosa, a Filipino designer who developed original furniture pieces by up-cycling aged wood from demolished homes.
When I researched about his collection, I came across a Baki chair which he also refers to as the “yoga chair.” As a new follower of the practice, I was intrigued. Those are the two things I can or want to relate to so I was looking forward to this introduction. Clifford did not disappoint. The meeting was about showcasing his collection but during with interview, he provided nuggets of wisdom of just about everything in life and how they relate to art… politics, family, health – and even injected humorous anecdotes about relationships.
Photos by star sabroso
He shares, “I went through several experiences in life; many sufferings. Because of these experiences, I became an instrument in expressing men through art.” He mentions being a vessel in articulating the human condition and emphasizes that art is not about him. It is about all of us. It is not self-expression.
As I mentioned before, I was experiencing some back pain. Upon seeing the furniture pieces created from solid wood, you get the impression that they might be slightly uncomfortable. He invited me to sit on the “Trono” chair, a piece that means “throne” and made from hardwood like Yakal, Narra and Ipil. This masterpiece also made an appearance at the “100 chairs around the world” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. Here, he strategically placed holes at the base to suspend the ischium bones while supporting the buttocks. Clifford describes the experience of the user as “sitting on clouds.”
With my condition, I suppose I was the ideal candidate to really test the product’s comfort. I hesitantly sat down, not wanting to entertain more pain but surprisingly, as I settled onto the chair, it provided some relief to my body. I can honestly conduct the rest of the interview sitting on that “throne.”
With his pieces, there are no drawings, only trial and error. I asked if that would take longer but he is someone who works better and faster with his hands. He shares, “Thinking and working must be done simultaneously. You can’t just teach through theories or drawings.“
He confides that instead of learning how to draw during his time as an architecture student in UP, he felt he would have benefitted more from doing more hands-on projects. He admitted that when he enrolled himself in university, he thought they were going to start building houses.
So why the furniture collection? He answers, “The house is the ‘kanlungan,’ which is the space that protects people from the elements. The furniture pieces are the ‘kandungan’ which make people feel comfortable, akin to being cradled by your own mother. The environment is the ‘pahingahan’ which nurtures people with its balanced habitat.” He has to produce these furniture pieces to complete the formula.
In creating the “kandungan,” he enjoys working with 100-year-old wood and is an advocate of green architecture. He laments that waste is an invention by man and that the concept of “pamana,” which is to inherit something, is a dying tradition. One of the purposes of art is to make things that last.
More wastage is built when we constantly purchase things and throw them away. He says, “In nature, everything is recycled and is a form of energy. We need to be creative enough to transform this waste into something beautiful and of value.”
He adds, “We are the citizens of this country. Art should be responsible and responsive.” We parted ways after that one-hour meeting but his art and lessons created an impression that will stay with me much longer than that. It was such an enlightening session that I even forgot about my aching back in the end.
Clifford Espinosa’s masterpieces can be viewed at the EADE Showroom located at 47 Esteban Abada Street, Loyola Heights, Quezon City. For more inquiries, please contact +63917-822-4428 / +63920-132-6061 / +63927-721-1478 / +632-477-5156 or email [email protected] and visit www.eade.ph
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