Edwin Diamante

Edwin Diamante: Capturing The Magic Of  Nature

Text by: Hannah Jo Uy

The answer to life’s most important questions lies in nature. It is divulged to us through the voice of the winds, in the breathing waves springing from the belly of the ocean and in the plants bearing marks of the wisdom of the ages. We have just forgotten how to listen. Such is the philosophy of painter Edwin Diamante. 

Nature is teeming with life. Not simply life in the biological sense, but life in the very essence of energy, feeling and emotion. In many ways, the purity of nature in its humble existence puts our idea of living to shame. 

“Nature has a lot of magic,” says Edwin Diamante, “We don’t see them, we don’t feel them, but once you come close to them, you can relate to them. They are beings like us, they have life like us, they feel. They feel much more than us.”

It is this awe-inspiring elements of nature that is the subject of Edwin Diamante’s come back exhibit entitled “The Divine Eye.” Unveiled at the Galerie Astra last December 5, 2012, the collection features sixteen works, products of Dimanete’s return to the art scene after a thirty-year hiatus.

An alumnus of University of Santo Tomas, Diamante graduated with a degree in Advertising. Being under Fine Arts, he was captivated by the canvas early on. 

 “In 1975 there was a group organized by our professor,” says Diamante,” which is the ‘Message of the Surrealist,’ I fell in love with painting during my college days because of that group. Na-ignite yung passion ko sa pagpipinta” 

The passion burned within Diamante strongly. Prolific during his early years, he spent most of his time putting together shows and working on his craft. His first solo exhibit in 1978 took place a year after he graduated. Followed by his next solo exhibit in 1980, and third in 1981. 1982 marked a new era for the life of Diamante, it was the year he got married. Taking to heart his responsibility as a husband and a father and as a result of the tumultuous times during Martial Law, he set aside his brush for the time being and went to work. 

“I had to work in advertising,” he says,” yan ang bread and butter ko. Ayaw ko magsacrifice ang painting ko. Yun yung first love ko eh, ayaw ko siya maprostitute.”

Edwin Diamante’s career in advertising continued for a few years as he built a name for himself in print ads and magazines. However in 1986, he along with his contemporaries started working with computer graphics. First starting out with two-dimensional work, he moved on to a successful career in three-dimensional design. During this time, his love for painting persisted and yet he continued to wait patiently for the proper time to create his works on his own terms rather than bear to see his creations below the standard of quality that he wants to live by. 

His career in graphic design had its abrupt end in 1995 when he found of complication in his left eye. As a result of a previous traumatic experience coupled with his constant exposure to high-resolution graphics the strain proved too great. Quitting his job, they moved from their home in San Juan to Laguna where Diamante was involved in farming. 

The natural surroundings did wonders to restore Diamantes passion for painting. His affinity for nature made him comfortable in his new home. And it is in this setting that he found himself going back to the canvas, being so close to the subject that has always been his number favorite muse. Slowly, he went back to the canvas, one painting at a time. His responsibility as a father was above his own passions, and so it wasn’t until last year upon the graduation of his youngest that he said, “Ako naman. Inantay ko talaga, sineryoso ko talaga responsibility ko sa kanila. After that last year, painting na ako, direcho na ako, binuo ko na tong mga works ko.” 

Confident that his art will no longer be compromised, he went to work creating his paintings for his exhibit at Galerie Astra. His love for nature runs deep. While this spark was reignited by his move to Laguna, it is a love affair that began even when he was a young student in the city. Even in college, he would purposely go out of town to visit mountains or other places where he is immersed in nature.  The result is a collection that reflects his philosophies and way of life, one of serenity in deep and true appreciation of nature. 

“It’s a universal mysticism, “ Diamante shares,” I practice and I meditate, living and understanding. We were trained to feel rather than think. It’s the feeling that is important. Feeling, of the moment. When you’re in the moment you feel it. We always think before we feel. Ang pure feelings wala siyang thought. We express it in the moment, doon lang siya nageexist. Ang tao kasi nagiisip at kasama na past doon.”

His works presents nature, as he believes it to be: alive, breathing and feeling, just like us. It aims to rekindle our inherent correlation with nature in reminding us to reconnect with our world, and in so doing realize the purpose of our own existence. 

One work entitled, “Maskara,” shows an eye peeking from the lush leaves of a green tree, amongst the rock formations with the blue sea on the side. His work “The Path, “ presents the horrible destruction that humanity inflicts on nature. The narrow path leading to a face formed by leaves and flowers are littered with matchsticks and other trash, an affront to the apparent paradise of trees. In imbibing his works with human elements, he makes nature more alive, a character in a story, not simply a background or a setting.

More than appreciation, his purpose is also to remind, if not warn people of the damage that society brings.

“We are always interrelated with nature, we are not separated,” he says,” Magkasama tayo, isa lang tayo. Yet we don’t understand that. We separate ourselves from nature. We cut trees, we destroy nature. Kaya nangyayari satin, kung may earthquakes or typhoons binabalik lang satin. Natural lang yan, kasi kung anong tinanim mo yan ang aanihin mo eh. This is what our country is sowing, and therefore this is what we’re reaping. But if we understand them, there is a feeling of love. We have to take care of them. If we take care of them, they take care of us.”

Catch the Edwin Diamantes,” The Divine Eye,” at Galerie Astra, LRI Design.