01/11/2025
WHEN MEMORIES WORE FLOWERS
A Solo Art Exhibition
Iris Babao-Uy
6-19 November 2025
Artasia Gallery
SM Megamall, Mandaluyong
Like beautiful notes in a song, flowers — recurring and omnipresent in Iris Babao-Uy's still-life compositions — have their own beginning and end. As a painter and pianist, Iris renders flowers with a sense of harmony and rhythm that mirrors her music. Harmoniously juxtaposed with other elements in her paintings, her flowers seem to glow with life — colorful, delicate, fragile, and fleeting all at once.
Titled IF MEMORIES WORE FLOWERS, this exhibition serves as an index of her evolving style, bridging her distinct past and present. The first series, the dark or chiaroscuro-inspired works, highlights her mastery of fine craftsmanship. Each object appears to emerge vividly from an intense background, where contrasting colors and textures heighten the drama-yet everything remains in harmony through her careful selection of objects that together narrate a clear story.
The second series, the light or pastel works, marks a departure from her earlier style. Among the three, it most vividly celebrates color luminosity and the softness of tones and tints. Here, flowers take center stage — radiating warmth and dissolving gently into luminous yellowish backgrounds.
Lastly, the dolls series combines elements of both earlier approaches, but with a more pronounced human presence. The dolls, often portrayed as partners or families, serve as metaphors for togetherness — magkatuwang — and as vessels for preserving tradition and material culture.
These three distinct styles are unified by a single, enduring imagery: flowers, which hold a deeply personal meaning for Iris. To her, flowers are not merely decorative objects; they are vessels of memory — delicate witnesses to time, reminders of fleeting beauty, and symbols of mortality.
(Words by Abe Orobia)
