ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ronyel Compra (b. 1985, Cebu) is a visual artist who experiments with indigenous materials such as non-commercial charcoal, twigs, pebbles, corn cobs, cow bones, and skulls to materialize his works in different formats: painting, video, sculptural installations, performances, and printmaking. Heavily influenced by the discovery of historical and personal narratives in local communities, Compra integrates the techniques used in local crafts production and trades into his practice as reflections of memories, history, and experiences of places and his hometown. He received his BFA in Painting from the University of the Philippines, Cebu, and was shortlisted for the Ateneo Art Awards in 2019. In 2020, he completed an artist residency at the Bellas Artes Projects in Bataan. Compra is a recipient of Para Site’s (HK) NoExit Grant for Unpaid Artistic Labour—Philippines.