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ARTWORKS
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CHOOSE by Johnny Manahan
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DREAM WORLD by Vincent Leow
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HOW TO EXPLAIN ART TO A BANGKOK COCK by Apinan Poshyananda
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HOPING TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON by Heri Dono
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IN THE PRECIOUS GARDEN by Hasnul Saidon
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SEE ME, SEE YOU (REVENGE OF THE GIRAFFE) by Jean Marie Syjuco
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SIN OF APATHY by Chng Nai Wee
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THE LANGUAGE LESSON by Ray Langenbach
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THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE (AFTER MARSHALL MCLUHAN) by Baharudin Mohd Arus
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12 HOURS IN THE LIFE OF AGUNG RAI, THE DANCER by Krisna Murti
Jean Marie Syjuco’s interactive See Me, See You (Revenge of the Giraffe) transforms viewers into both voyeurs and performers.
Jean Marie Syjuco's 2023 sketch of giraffe and acacia tree
graphics for the wall of See Me, See You (Revenge of the
Giraffe).
About the Artwork
See Me, See You (Revenge of the Giraffe)
1986, environmental components remade 2023
Acrylic paint, gold powder and lacquer on wood, lens, bulbs, sound box, buzzer, books, ink, paper, sintra board, shelves, mirror, vinyl, cathode-ray tube television, video camera, live video feed
Collection of the artist
By weaving in elements of fun and play, Syjuco invites viewers to explore and participate in the artwork. Surrounded by graphics of giraffes and acacia trees on the walls, viewers may interact in different ways with an abstracted, wooden female giraffe sculpture installed with a platform to stand on, and read a selection of books and the artist’s own handwritten notes on giraffes. The various elements collectively create the look and atmosphere of a nursery room.
Viewers may open the giraffe’s torso by lifting a lid on its back to peek at the gestation of its baby. They will be greeted— and may be startled—by flashing lights and a loud buzzer protesting this disturbance. Viewers may also stand on the top step of the platform decorated with a star, as if they are the star of the show. By looking through the tiny peeper on the giraffe’s nose, they will see their own feet as if from far away—as though they are viewing themselves from the giraffe’s perspective. They may also engage the giraffe in conversation by opening the lid of its head and talking to it in a loud voice; the giraffe would respond in kind.
Jean Marie Syjuco. See Me, See You (Revenge of the Giraffe). 1986. Installation view, Pinaglabanan Galleries, 1986.
Image courtesy of Pinaglabanan Galleries ⒸJean Marie Syjuco
By looking through the tiny peeper on the giraffe’s nose, they will see their own feet as if from far away—as though they are viewing themselves from the giraffe’s perspective.
An engineering graduate, Syjuco began her artistic practice with drawing and painting before expanding her repertoire to include installation, sculpture, performance and video. In Syjuco’s performances, she is not the only performer; the audience performs as well. As collaborating and connecting with others form a critical part of her practice, the video component of Syjuco’s work is a device that establishes a relationship between the observer and the observed more than a means of documentation. The actions and reactions of the viewers interacting with the giraffe sculpture in See Me, See You (Revenge of the Giraffe) are captured on a video camera and shown in real time on a television that is situated in a separate, physical space, for other people to observe these interactions from a distance. The combination of these components alludes to the title of the work.
First exhibited in the 1986 exhibition Objects and Spaces at the Pinaglabanan Galleries, Manila, the original iteration of the artwork used a U-matic video camera, which was installed inside the gallery by Joey Macalino, an artist who made video and performance works. The camera produced a live feed that was played on a television monitor in the garden of Pinaglabanan, where people would drink, eat and gather for exhibition openings. In the Gallery's See Me, See You exhibition, the television is located at the Gallery’s main entrance near the ticketing counters. Although the artist distinctly remembers the title of this work as See Me, See You, it is also known by another name: Revenge of the Giraffe. The title of the artwork for this exhibition brings together both names.
About the Artist
Jean Marie Syjuco (b. 1952, Philippines) is a visual artist whose practice spans painting, performance, sculpture, installation and video. She is well known for performance art and the collaborative nature of her works. She won the gold medal for Sculpture in the 1980 Art Association of the Philippines Annual Art Competition for her minimal nylon string installation titled Traps: A Spatial Approach to Mass and Insinuation. She is also a recipient of the 1990 Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Thirteen Artists Award. She is the co-founder and chief curator of ART LAB: Atelier Cesare and Jean Marie Syjuco, a developmental art facility in Manila focused on multi-media art experimentation.
Photographed by Maxine Syjuco for Art Lab Manila.
Installation View
Discover More Details
Syjuco’s artwork, which showcases a giraffe sculpture, wallpaper with giraffe and acacia tree graphics, as well as handwritten notes and children’s books about giraffes, invites audience participation in several ways.
