Mapping Memories is a visual diary that presents images of my own thoughts, feelings, and experiences through the process of printmaking. In this first solo venture into printmaking, I allow myself to reflect, explore and experiment. The use of new materials provided me with continuous excitement and motivation.

Each reveal in the process is a natural high of celebrated surprises. The personal joy in art making is something to look forward to and something to be inspired from.

I moved back to Manila in December 2021 to take care of my father’s health. I had no etching press in our Marikina house and my workspace was small. Gelli plate became a perfect material for me. This is my first time using it for monoprinting. I learned to use it by looking at and studying other printmakers’ work on Instagram.

My process involves collecting found objects like nets, strings, cardboard packaging, rubber scraps, and corrugated boards and using them as stencils. Sometimes I would cut my own stencils using thin cardboard, a process that is both playful and spontaneous. In contrast to how I usually work on my large scale paintings.

I didn’t make studies for my recent monotypes/monoprints because I allowed each piece to speak to me, a process of making my way around the plate.

Gelli printing is a very direct process of using the palm of my hand for printing each work. It is a traditional printmaking process that is very tactile. By applying the acrylic paints with a soft brayer to the surface, the marks are done in a subtractive method by stamping and wiping with different materials like cotton buds, bristle brush, cardboard, and paper towels.

This marks my first solo art project of hand-pulled prints—a series of recent works that has more textures, layers, and happy accidents. This inspired me to continuously work with this process and with this series. I haven’t really exhausted all the possibilities of the medium yet, and I even applied the things I learned from my printmaking process to my own painting process. This creates a significant connection to everything that I love doing.

I like the immediacy and painterly qualities of monotypes. It gives me time to reflect and not rush into finishing a print in one sitting. Patience is the key to printmaking.

My new series of monotypes and monoprints in an 8 x 11 inches gelli plate is something that I enjoyed exploring for this feature. The images are chronicles of my everyday life and a collection of my personal memories.

The local art scene is very dynamic today, from the proliferation of galleries, art fairs, and artist-run spaces, art appreciation has widened even to the youngest crowd. Styles and media are so varied, although there are works that are derivative of current art trends abroad. I wish to see more works from young artists that are homegrown. Contemporary artists should be truthful and relevant to the issues of the times. We should not simply cater to the prevailing and fleeting tastes of the art market.

I want to challenge myself more and make big prints like the ones being made in the States and Latin America. My recent purchase of a big etching press from the US with a bed plate sized 4 feet by 6 feet will hopefully build and nurture a community print studio where local artists from Zambales, my adopted hometown, can gather, interact, exhibit, and collaborate in varied processes of printmaking. This has become a longtime dream and is now gradually being realized.

I look up to artists like Onib Olmedo, Danny Dalena, and Jaime de Guzman for being brave in tackling gritty human interests subjects; Mario Parial, Rod Paras Perez, and Neil Doloricon for their contribution to relief printmaking like rubbercut and woodcut.

Similarly, I want to inspire younger artists and tell them that Art defines the soul of a nation. Artists, after all, contribute to the development of education, preserve tradition and open up new ways of seeing. In turn, a country moves forward only if she is able to produce artists who, through their works, record history and inspire everyone to be proud of our cultural heritage.

Elmer Borlongan / Mapping Memories (2022)