'Literary Hybrids' and Aesthetics of Collocation

Cesare Syjuco uses both inductive and deductive collocations in a diverse and complex manner. His 'media-collocation' elicits a discursive interpretation of the binary elements from referential (object) to the main concept of the composition. The collocated elements, i.e., texts, images and three-dimensional objects, complement each other to form a strong symbolic presentation: subliminal and suggestive, witty and intelligent, Freudian and existential.

For instance, in "Weapons of Mass Destruction," during a 2008 exhibit "2 Minds, Many Madnesses" with his wife Jean Marie Syjuco at Mag:net Gallery, he carefully arranged a series of framed artworks with corresponding texts and illustrations on the wall. Here, the artist employs a 'deductive method' by arranging the elements of his subject in a logical and linear progression. The textual content of each picture is interchangeably designated with odd sound that belongs to either one of the referential objects (animal or insect).

The texts and images can be seen and read as follows: (1) If it grunts like an ox, (snail), (2) If it quacks like a duck, (mouse), (3) If it bleats like a sheep, (grasshopper), (4) If it squeals like a pig, (lion), (5) It must be bum yeggs, (eggs). Then, in a hypothetical proposition, he arrives at the conclusion in the sixth frame by saying, (6) "It could mean a World War!"

As if in an ominous and playful manner, the artist engages the viewers with a seemingly absurd question: What would happen if a mouse quacks like a duck, a lion squeals like a pig, or a grasshopper bleats like a sheep? Although, the syntactic propositions defy the logical principles, there is but one reality that the artist wishes to convey -- the weapons of mass destruction and its imminent peril to humanity.

In another compelling work of the same show titled "Divinities," a rectangular one-meter acrylic panel is vertically attached on the wall backlit by fluorescent light. On the transparent surface is an almost invisible caption running upward parallel to the vertical fluorescent bulb. At a relative distance, the acrylic panel appears to be an ordinary installation. However, at a closer inspection, the object signifies more than what it represents.

Human perception and judgment can sometimes fail to see the detail, and, in this case, to know the truth behind the transparent acrylic panel. Unless the viewers are keen enough, they will notice a very tiny inscription that says, "God Speaks to Cesare."

In this work, the artist uses an 'inductive collocation' to test how sharp and observant the viewers are in understanding the concept of his work.  For God, as the artwork signifies, can be everywhere, speaking to anyone in any form or manner, not just to Cesare. The parallelism of collocated elements are obvious, the inscribed texts (God Speaks to Cesare) and the fluorescent "light," an allusion to the bible that refers  God as  the "light" of the world amidst the darkness of evil.

Conversely, Cesare A.X. Syjuco's compositions through media-collocation are neither abstruse nor irrational, leaving the audience defeated in translation.  On the contrary, most of his works are like a riddle to be deciphered or decoded by a perceptive mind. Finding the answer or the message of his work in the process is a plus factor. It is not only intellectually rewarding, but also a fulfilling phenomenological encounter of art as a revelation of reality.