‘A visual feast of the personal and the political’

PHOTOS COURTESY OF VOICES OF VISION PUBLISHING

Like a compelling snapshot perfectly timed and framed is what best describes this spontaneous but daring project—a photography book—by young publisher Rocel Ann Junio.

The “Mysteries of Chance” is a rare collection of 70 images that include some of the erstwhile unpublished photo stories and essays by seasoned photojournalists and documentary photographers Sonny Yabao, Rick Rocamora, Luis Liwanag, Jose Raymond Panaligan, Alex Baluyut and Al Benavente.

“(It) is a visual feast of the personal and the political, the poetic and the prosaic, and the pure and the profane,” said Junio, a 25-year-old freelance photographer.

Junio’s Voices of Vision Publishing launched the anthology of the photographers’ works done over the last three decades on Oct. 10 at Ayala Museum in Makati City.

Diversity

Junio believed in photography’s “spontaneity, the mystery of coming together of the elements.”

The book features diverse photography styles and even opposing political beliefs of the photographers, all served on a single plate, she said.

Yabao’s works, for instance, chronicle the daily hustle and flow of the countryside in Laguna, where the former Newsday photo editor recently moved in.

Filipino-American photojournalist Rocamora, whose works have been exhibited in museums and universities, provides a glimpse of one of Manila’s busiest localities, Quiapo.

Known for his works that depict humanitarian and environmental issues, freelance photojournalist Liwanag took the audience back to the 1987 violent dispersal of farmers known as the Mendiola massacre.

Panaligan trains his viewfinder on the Mangyan communities on Mindoro Island, while Benavente’s series “Mistica” allows people to enter the world of the Rizalistas, a cultist group that worships national hero Jose Rizal.

Award-winning photojournalist Baluyut shares his selection taken in the mountains of Cordillera and in Mindanao.

Risk

Not every photographer has a huge body of work and compiling decades of it “immortalizes (them) into a tangible testament,” Junio said.

A book, she said, is “like the holy grail of every artist.”

Unfortunately, the Philippines is not a cozy market yet for photography books, said Junio, who admitted taking a huge risk in the publication especially at a time when social media have become a more accessible platform.

It was perhaps her boldness that convinced the photographers into partaking in the project, having given a high regard for the artists’ copyright and royalties.

“It’s just like any other book that takes you to places and helps you understand a world beyond your experience. Except that we’re doing it visually,” Junio said.