In celebration of the National Arts Month, vMeme Contemporary Art Gallery opens Kristian Jeff Cortez Agustin’s visual-poetry exhibition entitled For Love and Poetry on 16th February 2013. This exhibition, complementing Agustin’s London-published poetry book with the same title, features a collection of poetry and calligraphy. The book itself is a full celebration of various forms intersected with the art of weaving words.



Integrating literature and visual art, the works of returning artist KJC Agustin explore different, personal recollections and stories as each piece not only sheds light on the experience of love, but also the losses, musings and ideas that come with it. Exploring the weavings and undertones that lie within cultural discourse and human behavior, Agustin brings together the complexities of emotion whilst staying true to the concept that brought about his achievements: Love. His calligraphic and poetic works recount how love is always seen, felt, and experienced in different places, whether real or imaginary, glorious or frivolous.

​

Born in 1984, the Year of the Rat, and a ‘Cancerian’, he delves into art and poetry as an effective means of self-expression and learning. In 2012, Agustin accomplished his Master’s degree in Visual Culture at the University of Westminster, London in 2012, after completing his dissertation on ‘social media interventions in governance and subject formation’. In 2006, he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Art Studies at the University of the Philippines, where he co-founded the Sirkulo ng mga Kabataang Artista (‘Circle of Young Artists’) in 2002 and served as its Artistic Director to date. His recent collaborations include: calligraphy work in ‘Fishes of Light’ / ‘Peces de Luz’ (forthcoming, 2013) by lauded Filipina writer Professor Marjorie Evasco and award-winning Cuban poet and dramatist Alex Fleites; his libretto forAgeless Passion (2011), a musicale for retired Philippine Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban with original music by Filipino Maestro Ryan Cayabyab; and his calligraphy, logo design and concept art for Earth.Ø(2012), a transmedia project in London conceptualized by Yen Ooi.

​

The exhibit opens with a series of poetry performances by the artist himself and various guest-artists featuring pieces from For Love and Poetry (KJCA, November 2012). The exhibit runs until March 5, 2013.