RACHY CUNA, because of his mastery in anything related to styling and design, has of late been called the floral architect. How he transforms ordinary quatro-cantos bottles of the lethal local gin bulag (cheap gin that allegedly causes blindness if taken more than what one can handle) into colorful pieces of installation art is simply magical. The same he does with twigs, dried leaves, the bakya (native wooden sandals) and other found objects that must have seemed bonfire-worthy. 

But the man reflects the beauty of his works. In an initial encounter, he was the ever-smiling and bubbly Cuna, who can turn a supposedly serious and stiff photo-shoot of museum pieces into an spontaneous party full of Rachist—or better yet, Cunaesque—anecdotes and jokes. He called everybody “dear” and the phrase “I love you already” peppered the room.

EVEN bingo chips containers become decorative pieces in Rachy Cuna’s hands.

This Cunaesque biosphere is currently recreated at the lobby of the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati City, where the latest works of this master, under the heading Bayan Cuna (When Filipino Artistry Goes Pop), is on display until June 10. Suddenly, the typical hush-hush of locals and tourists at the lobby has an art-gallery ambiance. And everyone is happy to be Rachy-fied.

BusinessMirror was lucky to have cornered him for a few minutes amid the deluge of well-wishers and fans.

Your works seem to go beyond interior-design pieces but installation art.

Yes, yes, that’s why they call me, the floral architect of the Philippines. Parang korona ’yun (It’s like a crown on my head). Kasi people observed that when I create floral arrangement, I create more than that, something different for them to appreciate, like an art object. So the drama here is ang dating (the impact). Ang dating, dearest. Oo, that’s the dating. 

How long does it take you to conceptualize one work?

A second ago! (Laughs) I work very fast. Like for this whole collection, I finished it in two hours and a half. Well, everything was planned but to install them together [took only that long]. To plan it is a lifetime. To dream about these things is a lifetime but to install it, it’s easy. I can do things in a flash. 

The materials you get, they’re….

Rural materials, things found in the market, things on the streets, things in festivals, around us, in everything. So that, you know, we will be aware, we will be conscious that we have beautiful things around us. It’s just for us to discover and try to raise up the spirit. A simple bunot (dried-coconut husk cut in half and used as floor polisher), dearest, a simple usbong ng (seed of a) coconut, a simple bakya, a simple quatro cantos, if you love to drink...that’s quatro cantos, ’di ba?. And that simple fruit basket. But I colored it and tried to create something different around it, and now it gives drama to our lives. I love to use drama.  

In another encounter, you mentioned that you haven’t been to Boracay because there’s no mall in it. For someone who can create beautiful things from simple leaves and twigs, how come you haven’t been to that most visited island-paradise?

Oh, I’ve been there...finally, last year. I plan to visit again because I have interior projects. I’d be doing hotels. Styling, dearest. I’ll definitely use local materials.  

If you’re going to describe your future designs in Boracay….

They are going to be something that we’ll be proud of as Filipinos.

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Rachy Cuna installs art

RACHY CUNA, because of his mastery in anything related to styling and design, has of late been called the floral architect. How he transforms ordinary quatro-cantos bottles of the lethal local gin bulag (cheap gin that allegedly causes blindness if taken more than what one can handle) into colorful pieces of installation art is simply magical.