Ronald Ventura: Luna

Ronald Ventura’s “Luna,” curated by Ruel Caasi, is a large-scale exhibition chosen as one of the Collateral events at the 2026 Venice Biennale. About The artist explores the moon motif via sculptures of human figures—children, men, women—reimagined into boats of different sizes. The crescent-shaped human-body-boat hybrids hang from the ceiling, creating a sensation of floating suspense. As vessels, both literal and metaphorical, these pieces of anthropomorphic watercraft forge a link between Malabon and Venice, two cities whose history and civilization have been determined by the surrounding aqueous reality. Built amid the liquid element, both Venice and Malabon have developed a symbiotic existence with water as an inescapable force, albeit one with an ambiguous presence. The ethereal beauty of Venice is born from its intimate relationship with water, as the winding canals act as shimmering mirrors that reflect and multiply the splendor of its historic palazzos. But the phenomenon of acqua alta, or high water, has become part of Venetian life—seasonal flooding that at first was manageable, but over time grew more severe due to subsidence, industrial activity, and climate change. For Malabon, known historically as the “Venice of the Philippines,” water serves as the foundational lifeblood of its economy, sustaining generations through a vibrant fishing industry and extensive aquaculture that form the backbone of the community’s livelihood. But water has also imposed cycles of vulnerability. Decades of reclamation, rapid urbanization, and land subsidence have intensified flooding, worsened further by typhoons and rising seas. Read more Toggle Drawing Painting Sculpture Installation