Art after dark

Artu Nepomuceno’s Parabellum, his photography exhibit, features ballerinas occupying the grand lobby of the main building of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Sometimes they hold fifth position on the sweeping staircase; sometimes they dance along a corridor.

The brutalist Grand Dame becomes the space for Nepomuceno’s eight-piece collection. Corners of the CCP and his frames, turn into a proscenium. Yet neither the CCP nor the ballerinas are the focus. Parabellum, like John Wick “preparing for war,” immerses the viewer in subtext, in what the eyes cannot see but the heart reads. It is poetry, restrained drama, cinema and painting in one.

The painterly photographs, each priced at more than P200,000, include one where a trio of ballerinas rushes along a corridor in playful motion blur. The CCP main theater, the country’s premier stage for the arts, is currently under renovation. Viewing Nepomuceno’s images therefore awakens a sense of longing and wonder, as if these ballerinas were ethereal, otherworldly beings seeking solace in the brutalist landmark before it reopens.

They cross thresholds closed to the public. Like spirits, they pass through austere walls; only inside the main building can they relax and refine their craft. In the shadows, behind the lobby’s glass doors, up the crimson staircase, beneath chandeliers that weigh on the ceiling, the Tanghalang Pambansa offers a colossal room to dance unseen. A respite. A home.

Soft white tutus drift through the monolithic structure like whispered secrets as the small ensemble of ballerinas gathers, moves and shares stories outsiders cannot hear. They appear identical in the photographs; the uniformity forges a community of equals, leaderless yet bound together.

Nepomuceno’s Parabellum tells numerous stories within eight expansive frames. Though minimalist, the interplay of shadows, restrained colors and the scant light permitted to enter envelops them in mystery, like the hush of peacetime before impending chaos.

Parabellum premiered in late June during Art After Dark, an event by the quarterly Lifestyle Asia. The intimate gathering at W/17 launched the magazine’s “Style and Expression” June 2025 issue featuring Bea Elizalde. Nepomuceno, grandson of acclaimed filmmaker Luis Nepomuceno, has photographed more than 50 magazine covers over the past decade. His Vogue Philippines portrait of Apo Whang-Od is one of the highlights.

During the program, Nepomuceno shared his view on art.

“I believe that art is useless until it isn’t. What I mean by that is, art — whether it’s poetry, visual art, or dance — only means something to you when you go through something personal in your life. You lose someone, or someone comes into your life, or leaves your life, you go through some kind of crisis, anything personal or emotional. That’s the only time art means something to you.”

Parabellum fits Lifestyle Asia’s Art After Dark. As moonlight deepens and gloam settles, it stirs what lies beneath the surface. Soft, dim light may feel romantic; deepening hues may signal absence; darkness may embody grief. The gentle lines of dancers in white tutus, set against raw concrete and interrupted by the gleam of chandeliers, sharpen these emotions.

He told the audience that the project “was literally photographing what was present, rather than interpreting what was going on.”

“For this particular series, little did I know that CCP would eventually go through some restoration process. And now these photographs mean something in many ways to many people, because this is the CCP many of us grew up in. And to some particular people, it is a playground that they grew up in.”

During the event, Kerry Tinga, Chief of Editorial Content for Lifestyle Asia, said art has always been “the ultimate form of personal expression.”

Parabellum also names a semiautomatic pistol. The exhibit, like a gunshot announcing the magazine’s new direction, hints at a stronger commitment to artistic expression.

Tinga added, “[Art is] about cultivating deeper connections with beauty, creativity, and the stories that define us. Tonight, we’ve created a space where art becomes a living experience for those who value such things.”