Photos Courtesy of Herminio Tan
"I want to convey that you can always find beauty and art anywhere. That the grotesque, rough and gritty, macabre and unconventional forms of art can be beautiful, too." -Herminio Tan
Herminio Tan's art is both enigmatic and beautiful. You'll never know what to expect, yet it always seems like the next creation that his complex mind births is worth waiting for. And it always is.
Tan creates art from a lot unconventional materials--bones being one of them. Yes, bones. He painstakingly sources them from farms and bereaved pet owners who find it apt to donate their beloved pet's remains to be part of an artistic work.
DEATH AND HER HORSE. Articulated real horse and dog bones for the exhibit of Sculpture Review.
Herminio Tan is, quite literally, a bone collector. He is also a sculptor. He creates most of his art from his studio in Binangonan, Rizal, where he creates stand-alone pieces and wearable art, all with a touch of the sublime. It might have something to do with how he incorporates the idea of death and mortality with beauty and everyday life that makes it terrifying, beautiful, and sobering, all at once.
Tan's work has been featured in multiple art exhibits around the metro, and is poised for more collaborations with other artists globally. You might have seen his works in Mark Meily's 2019 film "Maledicto" or Jose Javier Reyes's "Recipe for Love" in 2018. He's also had exhibits such as his "Templo?" exhibit in Pineapple Lab, "Hermitism X Fadal Manila," among others.
Tan's artistic process is intersting, to say the least, and we got a chance to ask him a few questions about his design philosophy and worldview.
Can you tell us about how you got interested in art?
I think I was immersed in art at a young age. My dad is an architect and my mom used to be an Art Professor in EARIST-Manila way back in the 90s. I have this particular memory where I was watching her show her class this gray human head figure made of clay. When we were kids, my siblings and I would also get extra cash allowance depending on our illustrations.
I always wanted to collect skulls but my folks didn't believe me because I really don't watch horror movies. I have no formal art schooling. 6 years ago, to be honest, I never thought that I'll be making art. My interest in art came back in 6 years ago, particularly anatomical art, when I saw Lady Gaga's Bad Romance... It was life changing. So, I googled, googled a lot and that's how it jumpstarted.
Where do you get the inspiration for your pieces?
I have a very wide range of inspiration for my works. From my childhood favorite anime TV shows like Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Neon Genesis Evangelion, from Videogames that I play like the Starcraft and Diablo series, also classic to modern Sci-fi movies like Star Wars!
I also get inspiration from comic books and real life experiences. You know those 'Eureka' moments?
Kindly tell us about your design philosophy a bit more. What is it that you hope to convey through your works?
I want to convey that you can always find beauty and art anywhere. That the grotesque, rough and gritty, macabre and unconventional forms of art can be beautiful, too.
You use a lot of bones and unconventional media in your pieces. Where do you source them? Do you also collect some interesting pieces for yourself?
I source them ethically, and it's a rigorous, door-to-door (in my case, farm-to-farm) thing. Most of the bones I sourced are from farms and bereaved pet owners who donated the remains of their animals. Yes, I do have a few personal collection pieces... ranging from exotic bones to trinkets. Imagine "Borgin and Burkes" from Harry Potter, lol.
What do you have in store in terms of projects and exhibits?
This month, I'll be part of J Studio's year ender group art exhibit "SALO SALO 2019'' curated by by Sir Jim Orencio on November 21. I'm still waiting the green-light signal for a brand collaboration, I have some commission works on the way and I'll be doing more exhibits next year.
MAY-DUSA. Tan's sculpture "How Did Perseus Kill Medusa?" as part of Neo-Angono Artist Collective's group exhibit "The Mirror Cut Both Ways" at Espacio Manila and Artphile Gallery
ENLIGHTENED ONE. The artist's current favorite, an assembly of his wearable art pieces.
TIKBALANG IS A WOMAN. Made out of horse skull, horse hair, fiberglass and resin.
For more of Herminio Tan's work, follow @hermitism on Instagram and facebook.com/hermitismx.
Ipagmalaki ang tatak Filipino! For more content on Filipino artists, check out OBRA, a TFC original series on Philippine art at its finest. Click here to preview.