Mainit Illusion
Saluhan Collective x Liquid Architecture
Monday 19 February – Saturday 23 March
Mon – Fri, 10.30am – 4.30pm
Sat, 11am – 4pm
Closed Sun and Public Holidays
Bringing together the creative forces of Saluhan Collective and Liquid Architecture, Mainit Illusion is a multidisciplinary exhibition informed by voyeurism and the post-paradise palate of the Philippines.
Working in sound, installation, and video, Filipinx artists from the Kulin and Eora Nations—Catherine Ortega-Sandow, Del Lumanta, Kenneth Suico, Mariam Ella Arcilla (Magenta House), MJ Flamiano, Neil Cabatingan (Kuya Neil), Ranima Montes, and Raquel Solier (Various Asses)—come together to present newly commissioned works across Arts House.
‘Mainit’ is a Filipino word meaning hot or humid and is a common expression used to describe the intensity of summer heat felt across the archipelago.
Alongside the exhibition, Mainit Fantasy is a one-night curated spectacle of sweet and salty art, sound and performance.
Artist statement
- Catherine Ortega-Sandow and MJ Flamiano, co-Creative Directors of Saluhan Collective
Liquid Architecture is thrilled to work with artists from Saluhan Collective to present a 360 degree experiential plunge into SE Asian Filipinix sound, vision and taste. Stay open to the experiment as they take you on a trip to what once was, and now is, from the collective that does it best.
- Kristi Monfries and Lucreccia Quintanilla, Co-Directors of Liquid Architecture
About the artists
Founded in 2019 by Aida Azin and now led by Catherine Ortega-Sandow and MJ Flamiano, Saluhan is a Filipinx/o artist collective based in Naarm. Saluhan was created to establish a network between creatives in Australia and the Philippines and has since expanded to include collaborative projects that combine arts and community development. Their practice is underpinned by notions of kinship, reciprocity, and the desire to create spaces that interweave artistry and community.
Saluhan has previously facilitated Saluhan: A Filipino Community Arts Event (2019) for makers, artists, musicians, and local community in Melbourne, Adelaide and Quezon City (PH), Agimat (2021), a series of community printmaking workshops at Sunshine Print Artspace, Dialekto (2022), a series of artist-led workshops at Siteworks funded by NAVA’s Carstairs Prize, and Radical Hospitality: Kain Na Tayo (2023), an 8-hour performance, dining and dance event held in collaboration with Next Wave.
Liquid Architecture
Grounded locally but working globally, LA is a dedicated platform for artists engaged in experimental sound practice, sustained and energised through conversation and research, and realised in collaboration with people in our community and beyond.
Monday 19 February – Saturday 23 March
Mon – Fri, 10.30am – 4.30pm
Sat, 11am – 4pm
Closed Sun and Public Holidays
World Premiere
Presented by Arts House
Mainit Illusion
Detailed access information is available to download below
PDF | Word Doc
Arts House
North Melbourne Town Hall
521 Queensberry St,
North Melbourne
Assistance Animal
Companion Card
Quiet Space Available
Wheelchair AccessibleImage credit: MJ Flamiano, Mainit Illusion (visions of Limasawa Island), 2024, digital collage.
Image Description: There is a landscape photograph of the front of a house with a tropical garden. There is a small shop front in the right-hand corner with a corrugated roof. In the background there is a large tree towering over the shop front. The photograph is highly-saturated in the colours of purple, yellow, and green with a grainy texture. The words ‘*Mainit Illusion’ are superimposed on the image in red with small yellow lines running through each letter.
*Mainit is a Filipino word meaning hot or humid.
