Abysmal Depths

Childhood does not last long but its resonance is endless. This fact is especially vivid to those who experienced trauma as children. The young mind tends to escape within itself, having no other way out. Somewhere this inward route, some of us get lost entirely; failing to discover safer mental spaces through the years. For Occeña, it is as if every passing year has added more depth to his unwavering past. Memories, as traumatic stimuli, keep the artist in a reflexive orientation. The trauma is renewed by mere remembrance. The more he looks back, the deeper the memories sink into his consciousness, creating an abyss.

In a set of works that is drawn from a tethered early life, Occeña microdoses courage to face the confusion and agony of tackling grief, fear, and isolation. “I don't really understand how I come up with the images I create. I often work in a state which I am not aware of. I just know the finished pieces are about my life. About how I feel: suffocating, drowning, punished... I get a sense of being left alone by the world” Occeña explains.

In his first solo exhibit- Abysmal Depths, Dennis Occeña disrupts the margin between light and dark. He expels midtones almost entirely. Occeña presents us with the most extreme of contrasts. It is as if we are being invited out in space where there is only either the excruciating light of stars or the harrowing gaze of the void.

Dennis Occeña took up Arts and Design Strand and proceeded to finish one year of Architecture (2020-2021) in La Consolacion College, Bacolod. He collected top awards from local art competitions such as inter-college painting competitions and Provincial level art contests. He was part of Art Fair Philippines 2022 under Modeka Art’s “BASTOS BOMBA BAROK” exhibit.

Exhibition Notes by Guinevere Decena