Mek Yambao (b1989) makes oil paintings on wood with layers and textures. She combines these elements to conceal as well as to reveal her subjects. She expounds her use of traditional media by working with organic, experimental materials in her paintings and installations.

She thinks with her art. She makes delicate yet weighted imagery using experiences in her own life. Her reflections on feminism, identity, language, and post-colonialism are most apparent in her work. Her exhibition ‘May I Have Your Attention Please’ (2017) addresses the visibility of women and going against their culturally assigned roles. In ‘Is This How You See Me?’ (2019), she examines how people curate themselves and what they allow to be seen. In this exhibit, she reflects on identity and perception.

Through her work, she seeks to embody the values of multiculturalism and continues to develop her visual language to create more immersive art. Mek Yambao lives and works in Metro Manila, Philippines.

She joined Global Artists Committee of Asian Art Association in 2020.

I was born with a rare genetic skin condition that causes my skin to change rapidly, manifesting with different layers and textures. As I practiced my art, I became aware of the influence of this condition, culminating in the production of art that also exhibited layers and textures as embodied by my processes and mediums — oil paints, wood grains as well as experimental, organic materials — paintings built up in layers of oil paint that incorporate natural wood grains with non-textures and textures.

Thus, my art is the product of my coming to terms with my condition, the product of a continuous process of understanding. I use art to unpack and capture different aspects of identity.

I believe that art should be uncomfortable, and though the comfort of classical painting was something that I appreciated, I realized that this comfort prevented me from growing and fulfilling my role as an artist — to expound on identity through art that is constantly evolving.

We live in trying times, and as an artist I look for explanations. Whenever I find the right questions, I explore them through the lens of my art in the hopes that it may lead us to an answer.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019
Is This How You See Me?, Metro Gallery, San Juan

2017
May I Have Your Attention Please, Metro Gallery, San Juan

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2020
Small By Small, Slow By Slow, CANVASph, Quezon City
Necessary Misstakes, Terminal240, Parañaque City

2019
Here And Now, Village Art Gallery, Muntinlupa City
Under The Broad Umbrella, Kaida Contemporary, Quezon City
Ode To The Moirai, Art Anton, Pasay City

2018
Two-person Exhibition, Table for One, Metro Gallery, San Juan
Nung Payat Pa Tayo, Secret Fresh Gallery, San Juan
Collective Chemistry II, Boston Gallery, Manila
CANVAS Gallery: If Trees Could Talk, NCCA Gallery, Manila

2017
Dance, Secret Fresh Gallery, San Juan
Waking In Between, The Metro Gallery, San Juan
Three-person Exhibition, Pleasure Me, You Worthless Bastard, J Studio, Makati City
Two-person Exhibition, Samsara, Metro Gallery, San Juan

2016
Continuum 2, Ayala Museum ArtistSpace, Makati City
Two-person Exhibition, Am, Vinyl on Vinyl, Makati City
Recluse, The Metro Gallery, San Juan
Site-specific Installation, Bloom, Malasimbo Festival, Puerto Galera
Setting For A Fairy Tale, Art Fair Philippines 2016, CANVAS Gallery, Makati City

2015
CONSTRUCT, Manifesto Gallerie, Taguig
Body Positive+, Little Theatre Lobby, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Pasay
CANVAS Gallery: Only in the Philippines, UP Vargas Museum, Quezon City
Memento Mori, Memento Vivere, The Metro Gallery, San Juan
Site-specific Installation, Interconnections, Malasimbo Festival, Puerto Galera

2014
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice, The Metro Gallery, San Juan
Chaos in Progress, Cevio Art Haus, Pasig City
The Heat Show, Sigwada Art Gallery, San Andres, Manila

2013
Secret Garden, CANVAS Gallery and Garden, Diliman, Quezon City
Pieces of Sheet, Kanto Art Space, Makati City
Grupong Tomasino Alumni Exhibit 2013, Beato Angelico Gallery UST Manila