Yul Servo Nieto transforms trash to treasure

Bolts and nuts. Screws and hinges. Slabs of used wood. Metal debris of brass, iron, copper, steel, aluminum and bronze. Every single day, scraps needed at construction sites are carelessly discarded, deemed useless after their initial purpose. Yet, City of Manila Vice Mayor Yul Servo Nieto continuously gathers remnants, as he breathes new life into what many others may have just totally ignored or simply thrown away.

Inspired by the deep-rooted history and heritage, customs and traditions, arts and culture of the Chinese Filipino community, Nieto’s latest exhibit, Directions VI at the foremost property, The Manila Hotel, took his signature metal art to new heights.

This installment is part of an ongoing creative journey, tracing back to Directions I in 2023, his series of exhibits where he delved into engaging narratives and various techniques, with a long-term effect of creating a visual dialogue between the past and the present.

Armed with welding machines, unwieldy automotive paint and fragile stained glass, Nieto refined his metalwork and gave birth to striking sculptures, with a hard-to-achieve uncommon blend of industrial grit and artistic finesse.

Inspired by the deep-rooted history and heritage, customs and traditions, arts and culture of the Chinese-Filipino community, Nieto’s latest exhibit, Directions VI at the foremost property, The Manila Hotel, took his signature metal art to new heights.

This time, he reinvented his work with a fusion of modern Cubism, the intricate art of map-making called cartography, and assemblage art — a technique to construct three-dimensional compositions from found objects.

These approaches were completely in line with Nieto’s artistic philosophy as he welded together crumbs of metal and rejected industrial materials, he crafted obras which shouted an absolutely contrasting tale from their rusty origins.

At the heart of the exhibition was Temple Splendor, an awe-inspiring tribute to Chinese temples. This grand piece featured golden nuts meticulously arranged over a map-like representation of Manila. At first glance, the layout appeared abstract. But upon closer scrutiny, it surprisingly revealed an astonishingly accurate layout of the city’s districts and streets.

Adding dimension to the display were two striking free-standing carved moldings — Nest of Healing and Icons of Heritage. Crafted from bronze and gold-plated alloys, these works probed into themes of restoration and cultural preservation, paying homage to the longstanding legacy of Chinese Filipino communities.

However, beyond artistic expressions, Nieto’s work served a greater purpose. The proceeds from Directions VI went towards vital medical equipment, including wheelchairs, nebulizers, hearing aids, blood pressure monitors, and walkers for those in need.

With each version of Directions, Nieto redefines the possibilities of repurposed materials, transforming construction waste into visual masterpieces. The question now lingers — what will he create next?

Meanwhile, his collection continues to grow. Nails, tornillo, hierro, pipes, washers, metal rods, beams, wire mesh and more all find their distinctive ways into his ever-growing pile in the workshop, waiting for their day in the limelight.

¡Enhorabuena, Vice Mayor Yul Servo Nieto!