National Artist for Visual Arts Abdulmari Asia Imao has passed on, and yet, his permanent influence on Philippine Muslim art on a global scale endures.

The proverbial torch has now been taken up by his deserving son Abdulmari de Leon Imao, Jr., popularly known as Toym Imao, who successfully makes waves in the art community with his commentaries on Filipino social conditions and his pop culture references.

The descendant continues his father's legacy as he shares the elder Imao's 28 Mindanao-inspired paintings and 38 Sulu-dedicated sculptures as tribute to the home province, in the exhibit A Life Without Borders, ongoing at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB).

Born to boat-maker parents, Imao's interest in art was piqued at the young age of nine. A life-changing moment was when he studied at the University of the Philippines. There, he was mentored by two National Artists for sculpture, Guillermo Tolentino and Napoleon Abueva.

He then pursued a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture, major in Metal Brass Casting, at the University of Kansas. He also studied Creative Sculpture in Ceramic Technology at the Rhode Island School of Design, and Documentary Motion Picture and Photography at the Columbia University in the United States.