Jun-Jun Sta. Ana took the scenic route on his way to becoming a visual artist.
First, he studied dentistry. Then, he became a window dresser.
After his first show as a visual artist, Jun-Jun realized, “Oh, I have some talent.”
Jun-Jun comes from a family of dentists, so his parents naturally hoped their son would be one too.
But Jun-Jun hated school and made other plans for his life.
As an artist he considers himself “self-taught.” He also describes himself as an artist who has to work all the time, “or else I feel guilty.”
Several shows and recognitions after his first exhibit, Jun-Jun has found his niche in the art world.
Jun-Jun, who is a member of the Chicago Artists’ Coalition, creates art and images ranging from installations to mixed media work and digital images.
One of his more popular works consists of a series of portraits of Chicago men, found and enlisted as portraiture subjects through various gay networking phone apps such as Grindr.
His upcoming show at the Nova Gallery, which opens on August 1, 2013, is dubbed Autobiography.
It consists of 125 photographic prints, all shot using an iPhone 4.
Jun-Jun will also feature several assemblages.
“The images were taken in Chicago, Manila, New York, Baguio, Indiana and Silay,” says Jun-Jun, who describes his exhibit as a “travelogue.”
“Though there’s no overriding theme or subject that governs the exhibit’s visual narrative, it’s evident that the artist’s devotion lies on the city. The photographs, mostly in black and white, pay homage to the city’s chaos, commotions and constancies,” says a review of the photographs, which are rendered in archival and pigment inks on paper.
The Nova Gallery is at Warehouse 12A La Fuerza Compound, 2241 Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City.
Opening night is on August 1, 2013 at 7 PM with cocktails until 10 PM.
The exhibition will run until August 22, 2013.
To see more of his work, go to http://www.artmajeur.com/junjunsa/
Originally published at Chuvaness.com. You can comment here or there.