Ronyel Compra

Ronyel Compra is a visual artist who experiments with indigenous materials such as non-commercial charcoal, twigs, pebbles, corn cobs, cow bones, and skulls to materialize his works in different formats: painting, video, sculptural installations, performances, and printmaking.

Since graduating, the artist has been creating his distinct style and material experimentation, having mounted shows in Cebu’s 856 G Gallery, and other cities of the Philippines including the nation’s capital. He collaborated with a group of artists from different parts of the Philippines. The latest was the Talaandig tribe artists who are known for using soil as the main ingredient of their paintings.

Heavily influenced by the discovery of historical and personal narratives in local communities, Compra integrates the techniques used in local crafts production and trades into his practice as reflections of memories, history, and experiences of places and his hometown.

Compra was shortlisted for the Ateneo Art Awards in 2019 and in 2020, completed an artist residency at the Bellas Artes Projects in Bataan. Compra is a recipient of Para Site’s (HK) NoExit Grant for Unpaid Artistic Labour—Philippines (source, source).