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Billboards today are taking a whole other dimension. And this 3D anamorphic work of installation art by Elmer Borlongan is no exception.
It’s the first billboard of its kind in the country that features “art for art’s sake,” with no commercial strings attached.
In the moving image, the artist’s character stands against a backdrop of blue skies, passing clouds, lush fields, and mountain ranges. His character releases three sparrows from his outstretched palms. The birds circle and multiply, growing in number. The figure moves into a powerful stance as a sparrow rushes toward the viewer, seemingly beyond the screen before it fades to black.
Launched in August, this billboard featuring Borlongan’s art commemorates and celebrates the 12th year of the VLink Robinsons Galleria 3-Panel LED Billboard, a pioneering site in partnership between VLink and Robinsons Land Corporation. The installation art encompasses a message of gratitude through artistic innovation.
You might have seen some of the out-of-home advertising company’s billboards before. Besides the interactive 3-Panel LED at Robinsons Galleria, VLink also built and operates the largest two-way static billboard in the Philippines (628 feet wide, 68 feet high). This panoramic colossus has become a sight to behold on the Skyway 3 SLEX-NLEX Connector. The company also operates those ubiquitous indoor interactive kiosks throughout the city.
The milestone project of VLink features art not for commercial purposes or for a promotion of a product, but for art’s sake—to move, to spur, and to inspire passengers on their daily commute.
Elmer Borlongan is a prominent Filipino painter, perhaps best known for his distinctive stylized, bald figures with large eyes and long limbs. He works through themes with social realist commentary. In the ’80s, he contributed to the social realism movement with the Salingpusa and Sanggawa artist groups.
A recipient of the 1994 CCP 13 Artist Award, his work has found its way to the Malacañang Palace and major collections abroad.
