“Tubbataha Coral Rip” paper cut art installation on display at the Finale Art File (Papercutters Guild of the Philippines/Tubabataha Reefs Natural Park)
Manila, Philippines—Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a 46,565 square inch-long paper cut art installation, which depicts a portion of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a marine sanctuary in the middle of the Southern Sulu Sea, and some of its inhabitants—over 1,000 species of marine life—was on display at the Finale Art File gallery.
On the day the exhibition opened to the public, the artists behind the paper cut piece, all member artists of the Papercutters Guild of the Philippines, didn’t leave the venue until they tore apart their communal art. It recalls how in April 2013, about 3,902 square meters of corals, some 500 years old, at the Tubbataha, were bulldozed rather quickly by a 42-meter Chinese fishing vessel.
That art installation, aptly named “Tubbataha Coral Rip,” has won several international recognitions. the most recent is that from Japan’s prestigious Good Design Award, a comprehensive design evaluation and commendation system established in 1957, and has been sought after for the “G Mark.” This mark has become an icon representing good design worldwide.
An official entry to the Good Design by TBWA/Santiago Mangada Puno, a creatives agency based in Makati City, the Tubbataha Coral Rip has been cited for “its high-quality concept, world impact, and powerful message that stimulates people’s awareness of the environment.”