ARTIST'S PROFILE

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Jandy A. Carvajal acknowledges diversity in art practice and appreciation. Amidst this variety, he recognizes the place of decoration in artmaking. His predilection for decorative art is influenced by his Catholic background. Catholicism’s visual aids to piety, sacramentals, appealed to him early in his youth. Some examples of such artifacts are prayer cards (estampitas) and the embossed metal (repoussé) accessories of saint statues. While many might dismiss decoration as frivolous, he believes that decorative components are not necessarily superficial; they can be symbolic and narrative, and express profound concepts, such as aspiration and devotion. Nevertheless, he considers simply delighting in the "eye candy" as reasonable. After all, the human eye and mind need respite from heavy content every now and then. 

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Jandy asserts that, in the midst of the diversity in art practice and appreciation, education is all the more important. Artists and audiences alike need to remember why creative expressions vary in form and content, and that art can have many functions — none is more valid than the rest.   

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Alongside his pursuit of decorative art, Jandy has been revisiting collage and printmaking, often taking a figurative path.  

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He is currently Associate Professor of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines Baguio.