Short-lived are the moments that flow in the unconsciousness of time and Ivan, who goes by his art name Ibayan, explicitly illustrates the warmth that comes from the composite simplicity of Pinoy childhood, encounters, and familiarity– telling that the nostalgia of life is something that we will never be able to let go.
Ivan Pasion, whose comfort remains on watching sitcoms and afternoon naps, traces his arts on local designs, 2000s cartoons, and more importantly his life. His artwork dives into the vastness of personal lockets of after school mood– a shared kaldero of pancit canton with friends, the old-world juncture of commute, the memories childhood snacks bring– in the hopes of not forgetting the substance of being.
“All of my works are, in some form or another, a chunk of me and what it’s like to grow up as a Filipino,” said the cartoonish, self-described silly artist.
Bright and summerlike, Ibayan’s works are an untroubled combination of swift passing little while accompanied by the trivial of everyday life toned in Filipino contemporary humor, leaving us scraped in a retroactive cliffhanger of who we were and where we had been.
Behind The Hues
While Ibayan’s art style makes a palette of what he appreciates from other artists such Victoria Vincent (Vewn), Rene Aranda, Norma Belleza, his childlike fixation on animation from an early age, sitting in front of Doraemon and Makibao, to holding a grip with Adventure Time and Steven Universe until his teens, is paramount to molding his present art approach.
Like tiny pieces of remembrance crawling upon our heads at night, his gallery of arts touched by ephemeral, scenic cartoon flair are the backwash of an enduring dream; this is his way of keeping his childhood wish of watching a cartoon for Filipinos made by Filipinos alive.
The 20 year-old artisan may have not thought of wanting to be an artist despite being called one at an early spring, but what was then a half-discovered gift of something so strange and familiar led to where and what he is today.
Ibayan indulges in his pretty simple life and will probably be attuned to creating more sketches. “For now I try to enjoy the normalcy of it all, before I either become extremely successful or plummet into perpetual failure!” Punned the deeply troubled artist whose artworks remind us that the only thing we get to bring from our childhood is a structured home of longing.
Come and revisit the ever-alive Filipino culture in Ibayan’s social media accounts: Twitter (@ivnpsn), Facebook (/Ivnpsn), Instagram (@Ibayanpsn).
