The sacred in every day
‘There is something powerful about how a piece of clothing, worn and lived in, becomes a vessel for memory.’
For Alee Garibay, the sacred resides not just in the grand cathedrals or ancient temples, but in the everyday objects that shape our lives. In “Poón,” her latest exhibit, she explored this concept and transformed ordinary items into powerful symbols of belief and devotion.
The title itself, derived from the Filipino term for an object of veneration, set the stage for an exploration of how the sacred is consecrated through everyday objects.
“The word poón carried weight—it signified something revered, held onto, and in many ways surrendered to,” said Garibay. “This exhibit was about tracing that tension, the way faith, memory, and materiality intertwined. I found myself drawn to how objects, over time, became vessels for belief. They were touched, prayed over, carried in pockets, and displayed in homes and altars. They accumulated stories. In the exhibit, I reflected on how these objects didn’t just depict the divine but, in some way, absorbed it and transformed it into something else.”
Garibay’s works combined abstract and figurative elements, where text emerged as a powerful visual component. “Text, for me, was another kind of mark-making,” she explained. “It wasn’t just there to be read. It was part of the body of the painting. I liked how words can function like relics, something etched onto surfaces over time, shaping how we see and understand an image. Text in my work functioned beyond inscription. It breathed within the composition, blurred the boundaries between ornament and flesh. Graphemes, words, and phrases did not simply label. They carried weight, existing as both visual and conceptual elements.”
For Garibay, the text mirrored the way faith is inscribed into objects, bodies, and culture. According to her, language is powerful in that way, dictating meaning and at the same time unraveling it.
The artist’s process was deeply intuitive, driven by a desire to capture the essence of the subjects that captivated her. “I spent time gathering images, sometimes from history, sometimes from everyday encounters, things that feel charged, that lingered,” she said. “From there, I sketched, layered, and let the painting take shape. Gesture is important to me. There’s something about the act of painting itself—the weight of the brush, the pressure of the hand—that made an image more than just representation. It became a presence.”
More than a collection of paintings, “Poón” was an invitation to contemplation. “I didn’t want to dictate how people should see the work,” said Garibay. “More than anything, I hope “Poón” created a space for reflection. There was a familiarity in the imagery—figures, relics, fragments of faith—but I wanted to leave room for questions. What made something sacred? Is it the object or is it what we project onto it?”
When asked about her favorite pieces in the exhibit, Garibay highlighted Baro and Bagong Paraiso. Baro, she explained, “was deeply rooted in my fascination with garments, not just as coverings but as carriers of history, devotion, and identity. There is something powerful about how a piece of clothing, worn and lived in, becomes a vessel for memory.”
“Bagong Paraiso,” she continued, “was more of a reckoning, a tension between the ideal and the real, between lushness and transience. The interplay of flora and figures suggested something both abundant and fleeting, like a paradise that is at once promised and precarious. These works, like the rest of the series, were about how we seek permanence in things that are, by nature, impermanent.”
Garibay’s work, with its rich textures and colors, prompted a deeper appreciation for the sacred within the ordinary.
“Poón” ran until Jan. 30 at Cartellino inside Galerie Stephanie on the sixth floor of the East Wing at Shangri-La Plaza Edsa.
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