The Artist
Tekla Tamoria
(b. 1989, Quezon City, Philippines) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans installations, tapestries, wearable art, photography, video, and performance. Committed to sustainability in art and fashion, she repurposes discarded fabrics, old clothing, and paper into intricate creations that interweave Filipino cultural narratives with personal stories, fictional characters, and playful imagination. Her detailed approach—using embroidery, quilting, patchwork, and paper folding—brings to life projects like AlterBibo, Fortunata, Soft Ledge, and the Sisa Series, blending humour with craftsmanship.
Tamoria’s work has been exhibited in France, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Philippines, with group shows at institutions such as the Ateneo Art Gallery, Pinto Art Museum, M+, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and the Vargas Museum. A graduate of the University of the Philippines with a degree in Fine Arts, she has participated in artist residencies, including the Beppu Project (Japan) and A Bungalow (Philippines). She is the recipient of the Ateneo Art Awards (AAA) 2023 Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art and the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ 13 Artists Awards for 2024.
Tekla Tamoria, AlterBibo, 2018. Image courtesy of the artist.
Tekla Tamoria, Sisa Skykind, 2020. Photography: Jhoy Borromeo
ALTERBIBO
As the first presentation in this series, AlterBibo marks Tamoria’s initial foray into wearable art and textiles. Created in 2017 for an exhibition exploring ghosts, the piece embodies a childlike, energetic alter ego—an extension of Tamoria’s younger, more playful self. The costume serves as a vessel for transformation through movement, demonstrating how wearable art invites projection and reinvention. Over time, AlterBibo has evolved and been shaped by the artist and collective audience perception.
For Tamoria, wearable art is a means of extracting and reassembling fragments of self—emotion, identity, and memory woven into form. Though she has never allowed another to wear AlterBibo, she contemplates its potential beyond her own body. Her creative process merges intuition with structure, beginning with colour and silhouette while maintaining a foundation in pattern-making.
This edition, made possible with the support of ChinaHouse, unveils AlterBibo’s evolving narrative and conceptual dimensions, embracing its capacity for reinvention.
Tekla Tamoria, AlterBibo, 2018. Image courtesy of the artist.
The Artist
Tekla Tamoria
(b. 1989, Quezon City, Philippines) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans installations, tapestries, wearable art, photography, video, and performance. Committed to sustainability in art and fashion, she repurposes discarded fabrics, old clothing, and paper into intricate creations that interweave Filipino cultural narratives with personal stories, fictional characters, and playful imagination. Her detailed approach—using embroidery, quilting, patchwork, and paper folding—brings to life projects like AlterBibo, Fortunata, Soft Ledge, and the Sisa Series, blending humour with craftsmanship.
Tamoria’s work has been exhibited in France, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Philippines, with group shows at institutions such as the Ateneo Art Gallery, Pinto Art Museum, M+, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, and the Vargas Museum. A graduate of the University of the Philippines with a degree in Fine Arts, she has participated in artist residencies, including the Beppu Project (Japan) and A Bungalow (Philippines). She is the recipient of the Ateneo Art Awards (AAA) 2023 Fernando Zóbel Prizes for Visual Art and the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ 13 Artists Awards for 2024.
Tekla Tamoria, Sisa Skykind, 2020. Photography: Jhoy Borromeo
Venue
ChinaHouse, the longest-running café in Penang, owned by Narelle McMurtie, is a dynamic space with a restaurant, bar, shop, and gallery. Beyond a café, it fosters collaboration and artistic expression. It hosts regular exhibitions, live music, and cultural programs, serving as a hub for artists, creatives, and young people.
The same company operates Bon Ton Locale, a boutique resort in Langkawi that supports the arts through residencies and exhibitions.
Address: Art Space 3, Upstairs ChinaHouse, 153 Beach St, Georgetown, 10300 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Opening Hours:
Mon – Fri: 11 AM – 7 PM
Sat & Sun: 10 AM – 7 PM
Image courtesy of ChinaHouse
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A Conversation with Curator Vanini Belarmino
On behalf of the Artist is a conversation with curator Vanini Belarmino for the finissage of AlterBibo, the exhibition by artist Tekla Tamoria (b. 1989, Philippines) at ChinaHouse in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. Centred on the eponymous fictional character created by the artist, AlterBibo repurposes discarded fabrics, clothing, and paper into intricate creations that weave together Filipino cultural narratives with personal stories and imagination.
On behalf of the Artist
A Conversation with Curator Vanini Belarmino
Moderated by Gareth Richards
ChinaHouse
20 April 2025, Sunday
5:00-6:00 p.m.
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Image credit: Tekla Tamoria, "AlterBibo", 2018. Courtesy of the artist