An engineer-turned-sculptor lately has emerged as a promising artist from the quaint towns of Ozamiz and Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, for producing amazing works worth viewing because of the fascinating stories behind them about the “Lumad Subanen” indigenous people and their struggles for survival while keeping nature’s balance.
Beauty in the sunken?
Wood sculptor Zachary Guangco Alcoseba, who was earlier involved in cooperative and nongovernment organization-work, started his newfound talent after stumbling on pieces of sunken, heavy, dense wood buried under sand or rocks at the Usugan and Lantawan rivers in Mount Malindang.
Despite being ignored as driftwood, Zachary got struck by their fascinating natural beauty and collected them as they manifested metaphors of beauty and art even in raw form.
Rustic and barren at the start, each piece still exuded distinctive and fascinating washed-out variety of colors, textures and even certain smell. They were raw, but smoothened on the surface by water after being submerged for decades, and maybe centuries. They’re soft to the touch, yet strong as steel, even sturdier than iron, which is vulnerable to rust.
The enigma that is magkono
In his research, Zachary discovered that this driftwood comes from the endangered magkono tree (Xanthostemon verdugonianus), or Philippine ironwood, among the world’s densest and sturdiest trees. They are also found but vanishing in Samar, Leyte, Palawan and Surigao.
Magkono is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (and Natural Resources) under its “Red List of Threatened Species” and declared as “rare and endangered” by the Asean Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation.
Wood exposed to water would normally rot, but not magkono. Thus, it was used as hull and rudder of wooden ships in ancient times. Knowing its strength, termites and wood borers would not touch it.
As art material, Zachary’s sculptures could therefore last beyond the eternity of man’s time. Zachary made images of a “Raging Horse,” a “Tamaraw,” “Philippine Eagle,” a “Hippopotamus” and many more life-sized animal shapes.
His fascination with animals is borne by the fact that, after forests and nature are destroyed, partly due to human neglect, it is animals that are vulnerable to extinction. In contrast, humans are capable of surviving by using creativity to discover technologies to help them neutralize the wraths of nature.
Twist of fate at NCCA
Zachary also makes beautiful functional furniture, but it is his creative animal sculptures and fascinating stories behind them that drew the attention of Delan Lopez Robillos of the National Commission on Culture and Arts and got Zachary to exhibit his works at the NCCA and by now at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, until September 30.
By some twist of fate, Robillos knew he had many things in common with Zachary. Robillos was born in Ozamiz, but migrated to Manila at the age of five. His older brother Ferdie was a classmate of Zachary in grade school, while his eldest, Theodore Robillos, was my classmate in grade school. Zachary was my brother Mario’s best friend, and Zachary frequented our house. Our mom can still remember Zachary, but could not recognize him after many black hairs ago.
The exhibit became a reunion, but which also served to drumbeat support for National Indigenous People’s Month in October and thus gave due recognition to the Subanons (which means from the river) who were pushed up the mountains because of colonialism.
Jigsaw puzzle of life
By accident or grand design, Zachary came face to face with the ironic metaphors of life. He never dreamed of marrying, but is blessed with a patient, endearing lovely wife, Marisa Tomarong from Sipaloc, Zamgoanga Norte.
They wanted kids, but were not blessed with any. Lacking in procreativity, he makes it up with creativity, and now blessed with Subanon children, who help gather driftwood and share stories about life.
As a young boy, Zachary “dreamed of space travel,” influenced by Neil Armstrong when man first walked on the Moon, but ended down-to-earth in life. He says he was “cast into the deep void when there was no reason for living, but God woke me up from my nightmares to appreciate the beauty of life and our relationship with Him.”
Zachary has been “a dreamer, but learned to become an actualizer.” From dogged determinism of carving a definite future, he has learned to accept realities, flexibilities and changing jigsaw puzzles of life, similar to his artworks, created one piece at a time, whereby one day he works a horse’s head, but turns later as a carabao’s head.
Environmentalist at the core
Zachary says “trees and the environment have inherent beauty, but can turn ugly when humans accumulate more than they need.”
An individual needs seven trees to sustain his oxygen needs for one year and another seven trees for paper, wood and others. The good news is there are still 400 trees on Earth per person for oxygenation, but this may not last because of human negligence.
Humanist lesson in art
As they say creative writers and artists dream of the impossible, but it is scientists and engineers who make them possible. Thus, Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas or H.G.Wells First Men in the Moon, were written and unthinkable over a century ago, but are realities today.
Moreover, true artists go beyond “Art for Art’s sake,” but create Art for a Purpose as the “Purpose of Life is a Life with a Purpose.” Zachary’s lasting lessons is that “What is essential is not how much wealth we accumulate, number of houses and cars, or savings in the bank, but how we can make a difference to the least of our brethren.”