Story & photos by Recto L. Mercene
COMMEMORATING the 70th anniversary of the state of Israel and 60th year of its friendship treaty with the Philippines, the Ayala Museum recently hosted the artistic bamboo compilations of Anat Heifetz.
An Israeli designer, Heifetz was inspired by bamboos during her visit to various places in the country and found them growing profusely, especially in the Mountain Province.
“There are no bamboos in Israel where I grew up,” Heifetz admitted during a brief interview, and added that, as a fashion designer, she saw “the resemblance between bamboo stalks and rolls of fabric.”
Since then, the designer started rendering different images and designs on the organic, circular surfaces of the bamboo pieces, then sought the expertise of woodcarvers from Paete, Laguna, to help in the laborious task of carving and polishing.
It took her two years to finish the task, which provided a new dimension to her work by incorporating multiple styles and techniques gathered from her personal and professional experiences.
“[This] is a fascinating array of bamboos of all sizes and patterns,” Heifetz noted, the results of which could eventually find their way into dresses and fabrics.
There are around 400 pieces of bamboo exhibits, in piles like a sculpture, pasted on walls and individual bamboos—150 pieces of which were painted, and the rest carved.
“The work is the tangible and visual union of two cultures: the natural material [of the] countryside in Philippine huts, and the design of a kilim—a traditional Moroccan carpet, which are hung on the walls of [Heifetz’s] childhood home in Israel,” the Ayala Museum announced.
A cocktail party preceded the opening of the exhibit, which was attended by Israel embassy officials, guests from the diplomatic corps, members of the local media and Heifetz’s friends.
Image credits: Recto L. Mercene