A Day in the Life: Derek Tumala
Cultivating a creative process
By Derek Tumala, with Nabila Giovanna W
‘A Day in the Life’ is a series by A&M where we invite artists to share a day in their life through images accompanied by brief descriptions.
Derek Tumala. Photo by Jack Alindahao.
Derek Tumala (b. 1986) is a Philippine artist who works across different mediums from light, video, sculpture, and performance to found objects. His works contemplate present conditions through the lens of futurism, art and technology. For ‘A Day in the Life’, Derek reflects upon a past exhibition ‘Waiting to Exhale’ and likens his creative process to cultivating a garden.
Derek Tumala, ‘Waiting to Exhale’ exhibition, 2021, installation view at The Drawing Room Gallery. Image courtesy of the artist.
As part of creating ‘Waiting to Exhale’, I wanted to emulate a garden made of “unwanted weeds” to counter the thinking that a garden overrun by weeds has no future as a garden.
Shaping artworks at the studio for ‘Waiting to Exhale’ exhibition, 2021. Image courtesy of the artist.
I use dichroic film, which creates a translucent, ever-ambiguous appearance that changes colour at every turn. For me, this material is transformative and always becoming, a trait that I relate to my creative process.
Cutting materials at the studio. Image courtesy of the artist.
I cut each piece with a particular leaf shape in mind or emotion. I created my own leaf shapes and "foraged" them together in a bundle.
Flowers at the studio. Image courtesy of the artist.
Every week, I buy myself flowers. My favourites are white lilies. I watch them bloom over time, then die. This temporal beauty has taught me that nature is a never-ending cycle of birth and death.
Working at the studio. Image courtesy of the artist.
The time I spend in my studio is akin to cultivating a garden. A garden where my own flowers bloom in unexpected ways, where my dog lounges and time becomes irrelevant.
“The time I spend in my studio is akin to cultivating a garden. A garden where my own flowers bloom in unexpected ways, where my dog lounges and time becomes irrelevant.”
About the Artist
Derek Tumala (b. 1986, Manila, Philippines) is a visual artist working with new emerging technologies, moving image, industrial materials and objects. His art practice revolves around the realms of science and nature meditating on the idea of interconnectedness.
