Poklong Anading's spectrum of work ranges from video, installation, photography, drawing, and painting, continuously expanding on allegedly autonomous projects that reinforce a substantial discourse with an investigative, descriptive character - a chimeric entity, comprehensive in form and coherent in content. Often based on an interactive approach, engaging with the subject and the audience, Anading's work is defined by a unique standpoint on social occurrences and structures from which calculated intrusion arises from.

A vast part of his projects, therefore conceptual approaches, is based on the notion of deductive research - collecting as an act, as a method to extract the essential but then portray the organic appropriateness of dissimilarity.

In his acclaimed work series "Anonymity" and "Counter Acts" (2004-ongoing), Anading photographs people holding a circular mirror in front of their faces and reflecting the sunlight against the artist's camera lens.  The question of identity that arises with the work may not be limited to the subject but extends to the negotiation of the relationship between the One and the Other.

Anading often involves the subject or observer, both intellectually and sensually, as so in "untitled (dwelling)" (2012-ongoing) wherein he has been painting the patterns of his archive of images of "untitled (landmark)"[1] (2006-ongoing) on the nails of, first, migrant workers in Hong kong and then Korea (Gwangju Biennale 2012) and later of various persons he has engaged during his travels. The recorded conversations of these encounters are over-layered and activated by touching the surface of the black screen that will uncover a photograph of the pointing finger's painted nail in his work "untitled (dwelling)" (2012).  Likewise, Anading's sculptures "homage to homage" (2014-2016) reflect on the ratio of Manila's aggressive urbanization and accretion of skyscrapers on the one hand and the abounding living and working conditions on the other. There, he encased ephemeral scaffolding structures, a cheap and self-made labor tool, in stainless steel.

Hence, Poklong Anading exposes the blind spots of social life. He amalgamates particles of social phenomena, mechanisms and hierarchies in concepts that address both, a definite and metaphorical essence.

Poklong Anading graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1999 and in addition to being awarded for his work several times nationally, his practice has also been well-recognized internationally. Anading has been partaking in the most important Asian Biennials and international exhibitions and has been invited by curators like Mami Kataoka, Alia Swastika, Eugene Tan, and June Yap.  His photographic work “Counter Acts I” was collected and exhibited by the Guggenheim Foundation New York and included in the exhibition “No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia” in the Center for Contemporary Art in Singapore.

The artist participated in the Gwangju Biennale twice, in 2002 and 2012. He was invited to the Jakarta Biennale in 2009 and is awardee of the 12thGawad CCP (Manila, Philippines) for Experimental Video in 2000 and of the Thirteen Artists Awards (Manila, Philippines) in 2006. He is a two-time recipient of the Ateneo Art Awards (Manila, Philippines 2006 and 2008) and the Studio Residency Grants in The Kings Cross Art Project (Sydney, Australia) and the Common Networks Foundation (Bandung, Indonesia) and in Centre Intermondes (La Rochelle, France).
In 2012 Anading was invited to contribute his work series "Anonymity" to the exhibition "Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past" in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco (California, USA) and works of the artists have been exhibited in the Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe (Germany) and the Yokahama Museum of Art (Japan), the Singapore Art Museum (SG), the Asia Society Museum (NYC/USA) and in the Minsheng Art Museum (Shanghai/CN).  He has been part of the 5th Asian Art Biennale (Taichung/TW), the Roppingi Art Night 2015 and is invited to join the Philippine Pavilion at the Architecture Biennale 2016 in Venice/IT.

Anading’s works are included in the permanent collection of the Singapore Art Museum (SG), the Mori Art Museum (Tokyo/JP) and the Guggenheim Foundation (NYC/USA).

Poklong Anading was born in Manila in 1975.  He lives and works in the Philippines.

Biography

1975 born in Manila (Philippines)
lives and works in Manila (Philippines)

1995-1999 University of the Philippines, Quezon City (RP)

Exhibition projects (1998 - 2019)

2020
a calm in the middle of the storm, Art Fair Philippines 2020, Manila (PH) (solo)
cue from life itself, Metropolitan Museum of the Philippines Manila(PH)

2019

normal scheduling will resume shortly, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila (PH)
Fracture/Fiction: Selections from the ILHAM Collection, ILHAM Gallery, Malaysia
current, 1335MABINI, Karrivin Plaza, Makati (PH) (solo)
We Didn’t Mean To Break It (But It’s Ok, We Can Fix It), Pedro Cera Gallery. Lisbon, {PT}
Far Away but Strangely Familiar, Danubiana Museum, Cunovo (SK)

2018

TRENTA, Gawad CCP (30 years of CCP Award for film and video), Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila (PH)
The Philippine Pavilion: Muhon: Traces of an Adolescent City, (Homecoming exhibition from Venice Architecture Biennale 2016 - 2018) Ateneo, Davao (PH)
disco nap, das weisse haus, Hegelgasse 14, 1010 Vienna Austria (solo)

2017

Walang Kikilos (Nobody Move), NCCA Gallery, Ground Floor, NCCA Building, 633 General Luna Street, Intramuros, Manila (PH)
The Philippine Pavilion: Muhon: Traces of an Adolescent City, (Homecoming exhibition from Venice Architecture Biennale 2016) Metropolitan Museum, Manila (PH)
Household, 1335MABINI, Karrivin Plaza, Makati (PH) (solo)
Silver Sehnsucht, The Silver Building, Dock Road, London E16 2AB (UK)
Road to Mountains, Project Space Pilipinas, No. 6 Eleazar Street, Lucban, Quezon (PH) (solo)
Lost Frames VI: Loose Ends, International Museum Day, Ateneo Art Gallery, Quezon City (PH)
Shared Residence, Ateneo Art Gallery, Quezon City (PH)
Mutable Truths, La Trobe Art Institute, Bendigo, Victoria 3550 (AU)

2016

Venice Architecture Biennale 2016, 15th International Architecture Exhibition, The Philippine Pavilion: Muhon: Traces of an Adolescent City, Palazzo Mora, Venice (IT)

The Shadow Never Lies, curated by Joshua Jiang and Mark Nash, Minsheng Art Museum, Shanghai (CN)

Afterwork, Para Site, Hong Kong (HK)

Sidereal Message, Taro Nasu, Tokyo (JP) (solo)

Encounter and Departure, Athr Gallery, Jeddah (SA) (solo

2015

5th Asian Art Biennial: Artist Making Movement, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung (TW)
Video Spotlight: Philippines, Asia Society, New York (US)
Stop Look Listen, 1335MABINI, Manila (PH)
Roppongi Art Night, curated by Mami Kataoka, Tokyo (JP)
Urban Canyon, 1335MABINI, Manila (PH) (solo)
Hit or miss is a hit, Alliance Francaise de Manille, Makati (PH) (solo)

2014

No Country, Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia, Center for Contemporary Art, Singapore (SG)
The Bald Sopranos, Gallery Exit (HK)
What does it all matter as long as the wounds fit the arrows, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila (PH)
Manila (PH) Brave New World, Metropolitan Museum, Manila (PH)

2013

Copy Select All, Selasar Sunaryo Art Space, Bandung (RI) (solo)
Common Ground Barrier, Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill, Graz (AT)
Welcome to the Jungle, Yokohama Museum of Art, Nishi-ku, Yokohama (JP)
Welcome to the Jungle, Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto (JP)
No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (USA)
Move on Asia, Video Art in Asia 2002-2012, ZKM Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe (DE)
Sharjah Biennal 11: Re:emerge, Sharjah (UAE)
every water is an island, Bankok University Gallery, Bankok (TH) (solo)
Manila Vice, Musee International des Artes Modestes, Sete (FR)
Art Death, 1335Mabini, Ermita, Manila (PH) (solo)
Movement No.2 - Moving on Asia: Towards a New Art Network 2004-2013 - Wellington City Gallery, Wellington (NZ)
Coup de sac, Musee de design et d'arts appliques contemporains, Lausanne (CH)
locus, Silverlens Gallery, Gillman Barracks, Singapore (SG) (solo)
Glitch in the System, The 8th Vladivostok Biennale of Visual Arts (RU)

2012

pocket coffin, Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill, Graz (AT) (solo)

12th Gwangju Biennale: Roundtable, Gwangju, South Korea (ROK)

Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past, curated by Mami Kataoka, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (CA/USA)

2011

Miracle healing and other hopeful things, MO_space, Makati City (PH) (solo)

The Sta. Mesa Diaries, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Victoria (AUS)

Complete and Unabridged, Part II, Osage Art Foundation, Hong Kong (HK)

2010

Minimum Yields Maximum, Monte Vista Projects, Los Angeles/California (USA)

There's Money in Spending, Pablo Gallery, Fort Bonifacio (PH) (solo)

The Unnamable, Manila Contemporary, Makati City (PH)

2009

Thrice Upon a Time: A Century of Story in the Art of the Philippines, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (SG)

This & That, Triple Base Gallery, San Francisco/California (USA)

Drunken Revelry, Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manille, Quezon City (PH) (solo)

Tattooed Heart, Mag:net Gallery Katipunan, Quezon City (PH) (solo)

Untitled (Landmark), West Gallery, Quezon City (PH) (solo)

Magnetic Power, Jongno-Gu, Seoul (ROK)

Jakarta Biennale 2009: Fluid Zone, Jakarta, Indonesia (RI) Some Rooms, Osage Gallery, Hong Kong (HK)

2008

Random Faults & Root Cause, Finale Art File, Makati City (PH) (solo)

Fallen Map, Mag:net Gallery, Quezon City (PH) (solo)

Beyond Frame, Philippine Photomedia, UTS Gallery, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney (AUS)

Galleon Trade: Bay Area Now, 5th Edition, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco/California (USA)

Coffee, Cigarettes and Pad Thai, Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia, Eslite Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan (RC)

Sentimental Value - Philippine Contemporary Art, Art Center/Soka Contemporary Space, Beijing (RC)

Room 307: Inkling, Gutfeel & Hunch, National Art Gallery, Manila (PH)

2007

Untitled (Landmark), Mag:net Gallery, Quezon City (PH) (solo)
Light Suffers if there's no Place to Fall from, Finale Art File, Makati City (PH) (solo)
Between Intersections, Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manille, Quezon City (PH) (solo)
Shoot Me, Mo_space Gallery, Bonifacio Global City (PH)

2006

Anonymity, The Cross Art Projects, Sydney (AUS) (solo)
Faulty Wing, Future Prospects, Quezon City (PH) (solo)
Blindspot, Mag:net Gallery, Makati City (PH) (solo)
Manila Envelope, Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley/California (USA)
Metropolitan Mapping, Hongkong Cultural Centre, Hongkong (HK)

2005

Disappearance Resonates, Theo Gallery, Makati City (PH) (solo)
Anonymity, Finale Gallery, Mandaluyong City (PH) (solo)
Visible Darkness, National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Intramuros Manila (PH) (solo)
2005 Daejeon FAST: Future of Art, Science and Technology, Daejeon Museum of Art, Daejeon (ROK)
The 1st Pocheon Asian Art Festival Exhibition, Pocheon Banwol Art Hall, Pocheon (KR)
Flippin' Out: Maynila to Williamsburgh, Golitaht Visual Space, New York (USA)
Other Matters, Future Prospects, Quezon City (PH)
Object Tossed from One Country to Another, Theo Gallery, Makati City (PH)

2004

Transient Body, Mag:net Gallery, Quezon City (PH) (solo)
Indistinct Conversations, Finale Gallery, Mandaluyong City (PH) (solo)
2nd ASIA ART NOW, Cheong-Ju Art Center Gallery, Cheong-Ju (ROK)
Building Bridges, Artists' Compound, Quezon City (PH)

2003

Globo, The Philippine Center, New York City/New York (USA)
Under Construction, Artists' Compound, Quezon City (PH)
Satellite, Cantin Plate Gallery, Artists' Compound, Quezon City (PH)

2002

Video Programme 2002-Video Art from Asia, Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen (DK)
The 4th Gwangju Biennale: Pause, Gwangju (ROK)
Rugged Art Gallery, Big Sky Mind, Quezon City (PH)
Whitewash, Ateneo Art Gallery, Ateneo de Manille, Quezon City (PH)
on off, Greenbelt Cinema 1, Makati City, (PH)

2001

Interruption, Video Show, Big Sky Mind, New Manila, Quezon City (PH)

2000

Paper Over, Ayala Museum, Makati City (RP) Three Chairs, Big Sky Mind, New Manila, Quezon City (PH)

1999

Untitled, Sorrounded by Water, Angono Rizal (PH)

1998

100% Idiot Proof, West Gallery, West Avenue, Quezon City (PH)