As an artist living in a city perpetually in between memories of past tragedies and future catastrophes, I wanted to come up with something that highlights the positive qualities of our resilient city, Marikina. Popularly known as a disaster stricken city, I wanted to gaze forward and away from this grim which one may delicately but damagingly turn into a spectacle. 

I found inspiration from a tragic folklore we’ve heard since childhood. It narrates the story of Marikit, the protagonist who accidentally drowned in a swelling river having been too preoccupied by her alluring reflection on the water. The video work reimagines the 40-foot tall statue called “Marikit-Na” found by the riverbanks of our infamous city. Built in 2011 by Architect Ernesto Leaño, it stands tall not only to commemorate the death and destruction brought by the 40-foot deep ravaging floods of Typhoon Ketsana (September 2009), but to also remind Marikeño’s to be ever vigilant amidst the powerful forces of nature. 

Marikit-na 360 allows one to reimagine and rebuild Marikina river banks in a manner that combines future imaginings of our city and that moment where Marikit intently gazes into her reflection in the river just before the dark ominous clouds came.

By accessing the website, the viewer may get a glimpse of the reimagined environment via 360 panoramic video and oculus VR enabled stereoscopic view.

Amidst the lockdown, my brother and I saw the opportunity to rediscover the beautiful public green and blue spaces of our city. For this work, we set up a 2 minute video loop of reimagined Marikina river park which we have assembled using pre existing assets and 3D modeled salient features of the place. Like how the phrase “Marikit-na” meant, (already beautiful) we hope that opening a window for possible conversations around the improvement of a local public space can connect valuable insights that may later on benefit families sharing the same risks projected to happen in cities also vulnerable to climate change. 

Apart from advocating for salutogenic approaches for citizen mental health and overall wellbeing amidst a lifestyle-changing pandemic, improving and maintaining green and blue public spaces through sustainable city development projects may benefit its residents for long term. 

Based on existing city resilience studies that focused on Marikina city, the video work considered the following in building the backdrop for Marikit-na:

(1) reimagining a local government building and a few food stalls in the river banks with rooftop solar PV; solar powered street lamps to address 1% of energy consumption in the city (2) retaining but retrofitting current modes of transportation (tricycle) to avoid displacing local drivers (3) retaining mobile food kiosks for occasional Sunday gatherings and biker groups (4) maintaining good implementation of waste disposal in public spaces (5) highlighting the efficiency of flood-preventive wetlands for sustainable water management and cultivation of native greenery for economic, ecological and social benefits

Our country may not be pioneers of groundbreaking technologies such as Shenzhen and Silicon Valley. But gazing into the future as a city of strong resilience could hopefully be of great value to the future generation.

This work was made possible in technical collaboration with Abraham Rodriguez (3D modeling, animation) and Delton Humilde (web development)

Marikitna 40 ft. Statue

Zonta Club Dome

Chinese Temple

Tricycle Terminal Stations

Rubberized Track and Bike Lanes

Floating River Pedestrian Bridge

Flood Gauge Post

The People's Monuments

Carabao Herd

Riverside Food Hub

Congressional District Office