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Mar Balcos, a Filipino artist whose life journey has been shaped by the powerful duality of water, as a source of childhood joy and enduring trauma, emerges as a profound voice in the intersection of art, mental health, and environmental advocacy. In this candid conversation with the Austrian Press, Mar reflects on the personal experiences that inspired the creation of ‘Art Aqua,’ a project that connects the therapeutic flow of art with the essence of water, drawing deeply from the rich cultural heritage of Palawan. From using art as a lifeline during dark times to channeling the resilience of mangroves in his work, Mar’s artistic journey underscores the transformative power of nature and the healing currents of creative expression.
austrianpress.com – What inspired you to create ‘Art Aqua,’ and how does it reflect your artistic journey?
Mar Balcos – Art Aqua collaborates with individuals with unique properties, like water, to surface this theme with relevant advocacy and purpose. To begin with, my name is Mar, which means ‘Sea’ in Spanish. In English, however, it means ‘flaw or injury’. Coming from the Island of Palawan, surrounded by waters, like many Filipino Islanders who grew up loving the sea or any body of water, it was a source of joy and happy childhood memories. However, in our family’s case, it was also a source of trauma, tragic death, a mental injury that sank deep, stigmatized, and tabooed for a long time. I never had any formal training in Art. There was more hesitation and disregard in engaging with art as it was expensive for us, who lived on a limited budget. Just a couple of years ago, Art was introduced to me as Therapy against Depression. The psychological wounds that were dismissed on one side for decades flooded my well-being due to the recent series of deaths in the family. It was this resurgence of traumatic swells from the past, the breaking point, which drove me to seek professional mental treatment. In those dark abyssal nights, paint brush and colors provided comfort and relief to stay on the stream of sanity.
austrianpress.com – How does your Palawenyo heritage influence your artwork?
Mar Balcos – During my younger years, as I was still working in South Palawan, I remember one tribal man, a certain chieftain, who took time to make handles of brooms. Whilst carving different animals and flowers, he mentioned, “Our (Palawan) Art is from Nature and never rushed”. Like many Indigenous Communities of the Island of Palawan, with whom I’ve worked alongside, Palawan or Palawenyo Art has always been intrinsically interwoven or intertwined with Nature. There are many references to the incredible creations, which uplift any soul. Some tributaries refer to the surroundings and the symbiosis between the elements and humans. As part of the 17 most diverse countries, the Philippines is home to diverse ecosystems and biomes. We have 82 provinces of utterly rich flora, fauna, and fungi, which have not been deeply explored. And Palawan is unique in its biome, underwater, on the coasts, and in the mountains and forests. One example is the Manunggul Burial Jar, which holds testimony to how Palawan Art has been for millennia. The waves of the sea and humans are part of the journey as ornately as they are visibly observed. Nature in its immaculate form is present. And the interconnection between man and his home planet. I wish to influence many young Palawenyo artists or other Filipino art enthusiasts with this authentic art legacy, with much reference to Nature.
austrianpress.com – Can you share a specific piece from the exhibition that holds deep personal meaning for you?
Mar Balcos – The painting entitled, ‘Our Roots’ depicts the specialized Roots of the Mangrove Forests, or ‘Bakaw or Bakhawan’ as it is also called in Palawan. From my humble rural beginnings and subjected to many distressful phases during childhood and teenage life, I see myself in those roots. Struggling over the harsh realities of life, bending over socio-economic challenges. I floated like a mangrove sapling, letting the tides bring me to where I can take root and call home. I was in Australia for three years before migrating to Europe. Down Under, I was living off on suitcases, working on different farms and sleeping on train stations, and travelling seeking better grounds, so to speak. It also reminds me of my first daunting years in Austria. The hardships and struggles of migrating to a new country, the ‘unfriendliness of an alien culture’ or the ‘hostile’ environment, in which one needs to adapt and grow. Mangrove Roots are highly specialized, rising above every occasion and with every ebb and tide. They evolve as extraordinary in an acrid brackish setting. Many Filipinos (sadly) in our own country are often overlooked and undervalued. Like myself, many had to leave the Philippines and charter other islands of opportunity, where there is ‘better sea grass’ and an abundance of ‘shelter and refuge’. When placed in extraordinary, unfamiliar surroundings, these Mangrove Trees may adapt and thrive. Given the right opportunity or environment, Filipinos flourish like the Mangal Trees. And we grow resilient ever more.
austrianpress.com – In what ways do you believe art can contribute to environmental awareness and mental health advocacy?
Mar Balcos – I wish I knew the precise answers. The proper authority to give the most refreshing answers would come from our list of Pambansang Manglilikha from all the corners of the Philippine archipelago. Their creations, ranging from carving, weaving, basket making, dancing, or painting, are distilled inspirations from the environment, landscape, and nature. And it’s the same dimension when an artisan from one indigenous community in the Philippines enters and is spilled over into such a flow of passion to create. And as the list of our Pambansang Manglilikha shows, their physical bodies may have difficulties due to old age, but their mental state is ever vibrant and undaunted to stay in that sea of sanity. I do know that Art diffuses one’s soul to another ethereal sphere. The idea, once sparked, becomes fluid and rushes ashore; however, it is equivocal and, over time, sets the mind into an equilibrium state.
austrianpress.com – You might represent the UNESCO Club Vienna at the Earth Charter’s 25th anniversary. How do you see your art contributing to this global dialogue?
Mar Balcos – In many indigenous communities of Palawan, the word for ‘War’ or ‘Strife’ is absent. Compared to the other tribal communities in Luzon, warriors and social status identity were tattooed on the body. Perhaps it implies that as people live unfailingly together with their natural surroundings, it is an immense factor affecting their mentality and culture. It is an excellent thought that peaceful minds abound where Nature thrives in the most umbrageous extent. Additionally, Benedicte Rey of AFP reported: “More than 40 years ago, a pioneering study showed that hospitalized patients needed fewer painkillers and recovered quicker when they looked out of a window onto green space rather than a brick wall” “Yet until now, the underlying reasons for this effect were unclear,” from Maximilian Steininger, a neuroscientist at the University of Vienna and lead author of a study published in Nature Communications. This is known in psychology as the “attention restoration theory.” “The fact that this pain-relieving effect can be achieved through a virtual nature exposure, which is easy to administer, has important practical implications,” said study co-author Alex Smalley from the UK’s Exeter University. It also “opens new avenues for research to understand better how nature impacts our minds,” he added.
austrianpress.com – What challenges do you face as an artist advocating for the environment and mental health?
Mar Balcos – It’s a torturous situation, notably with our kababayans. The sad irony is that Filipino migrants or Diaspora undergo the tedious process of deculturation and acculturation. Which part of the old culture stays or goes? Which side of the new culture does one embrace? Social scientists have described culture as onion-like, with various layers of language, food, jargon, rituals, values, customs, etc., closely wound around the bulb. It is hard to distinguish which layer one should let go of whilst keeping the others in place, so the whole onion does not break apart. Many Filipino Diaspora have forgotten or failed to hand over their precious cultural knowledge to their children born in the alien country. We observe that with children of Filipino descent who cannot converse in their parents’ native tongue. In such a scenario of deculturation, in which the native language has become more foreign to these children, the relatedness of the Philippine biome and ecosystem has even become more estranged, as the Filipino parents never even experienced it or had had no connectivity with it. Relatability is non-existent. To this day, regrettably many Pinoys are unaware of many rare, endemic or native species which belong to Philippine special ecosystems which is part of the environment our ancestors drew Art from to make household items, harvested plant fibers to create handwoven textiles, or collected plants which were used as organic medicine long before European colonizers came to island kingdoms. The value of our environment in shaping Filipino communities, especially during pre-colonial times, was forgotten. Commercialization won out. One can observe this in major cities in the Philippines, where concrete dominates the cityscape.
austrianpress.com – What’s next for you after ‘Art Aqua’?
Mar Balcos – Let me quote Shakespeare: “There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries. On such a full sea, we are now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.” As Ms. Fran Wright always says, ‘Carpe Diem’… for now… But for sure, there will be more projects of this nature shortly.
austrianpress.com – Thank you for the interview!
Mar Balcos – My pleasure!
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