LETS BE FRIENDS

A solo exhibit by Marilou Solano

Days can be fragile. Triggers lurk around our environment, and we are both desensitized and overwhelmed. In Let’s Be Friends, Marilou Solano offers sanctuary from the chaos. Drawing on the psychological theories of self-actualization and human motivation, she presents a reminder – to herself as much as to her audience – that simply put, things will be okay.

Solano is known for her whimsical creatures in her paintings. For this show, instead of focusing on dreamscapes, she highlights her central character – a girl she names “Lulu” in sculptural form. In her works, Lulu is rendered with different sets of clothes and colored hair. Solano plays with Lulu’s form, inspired by ukay-ukay clothing and Tokyo fashion. Her eyes calmly peer out at her viewer. Alien and inhuman they may be, they evoke the familiar sense of warmth that says she is, in fact, a friend.

Solano peppers her works with comforting messages. In So Please Be Good To Me, Lulu wears a shirt that says, “Cheerful Girl.” Her series of four paintings is affectionately titled “There is a force in the universe telling you that you should become happy and healthy.” In one of these pieces, Lulu wears an orange top that tells her viewer “It’s OK.” The simplicity of the messages and the fancifulness of her imagery might be read as irony. Yet Solano paints with full sincerity, opening up the most quizzical doors of her and Lulu’s dream world to her new guests.

Talking about her process, the artist shares she “follows surrender, not control.” Let’s Be Friends is a gentle invitation to be friends, and to let go with peace.

– Words by Mara Fabella