WITH the intent to understand, preserve the vision, and publicly display the artworks of Davao artists, the highly creative sculptor artist, Wilfred Dexter Tanedo, established La Herencia de Davao which also houses the Art Resource Center Library and Gallery. The Gallery is devoted to the works of various Davao artists but last June 24 to July 10, 2022, a special space was allocated to Russian artist, Mirrabella Meze Theodeus de Alexsander for her “Transcendence in Gold” art exhibition.
The fashionable Russian entrepreneur turned artist presently resides in the Garden City of Samal where she found herself confined during the imposed lockdown of the Philippine Government during the Covid pandemic. Happily, she fell in love with the Philippines’ “largest resort island and ultimate getaway” as a tourist and thus, decided to extend her stay. No politics for this artist when asked about her views on the Russo-Ukrainian War which has caused Europe’s largest refugee crisis since WWII; and tortured the world with difficulty in the present economic crisis. But Mirrabella would rather meditate to heal the world. She describes herself as an artist and a yogi.
Mirrabella’s creative process is drawn from what she describes as “Meditation that unlocks the hidden corners of the soul while unveiling the beauty of the body and spirit…The creative process is the mystery of love and contact with the Supreme Being.”
“My artworks integrate a multitude of energies. This is based from my fascination of the universe, admiring its scale and incomprehensibility. The same incomprehensibility that I believe occurs in our body. This I postulate is the reason for my continuous growth and desire for explorations. Thus, there is more to come from my art which is a manifestation of my passion and spirituality coming into fruition. My art is the final act and relic of this transcendence of inspiration from my creative process that honed the metaphysical energies of my surroundings,” she’d confidently tell you while I was trying hard to follow what she was expressing.
Indeed, her artworks come from her deep emotional and essential spiritual life force that seems to be on the verge of emanating from her. Mirrabella appears to be radically surprising in her form, materials, process, and conceptual support.
“The summation of my artworks for this exhibit is deeply attributed to love and my love of life. Even when humanity for me is an unknown universe with everyone having their own destiny, it is love that connects and binds us…..My art maybe rooted from the energies, but love deepens it especially when it goes through a spiritual outburst that affects one’s soul. This also forms a special ‘Self-Love’ that I came to deeply appreciate as the ripple effect brings me to love nature and its complexities, myself, my country Russia, and even my host
country that is a natural paradise on Earth. This exhibit is a celebration of love, life, and spirituality in the radiance of gold.”
Personally speaking, the artworks of the Russian artist allow you to look at several meanings of her condition and the physical and psychological context of her being a transitional inhabitant of the Garden City of Samal which she has grown to love for the time being. “I like the artworks of Mirrabella because I understand what she is saying. It is a mystical experience,” commented Davao artist, Josie Carriedo-Tionko. Salud!
