Exhibition Backdrop for Manila Fame 2025

Reclaimed. Reshaped. Reimagined. A glimpse into the making of our exhibition backdrop.

Every exhibition backdrop is a distillation of one’s accumulated experience — the sum total of processes, materials, and knowledge gathered over time, spiced up by the spark of ideas still unfolding.

Such was the case with the Re-Creativity stand, conceived by James for the Manila launch last October. The backdrop was crafted from recycled, crushed stainless-steel sheets which James had first worked with in 2012 to make his “Salmon Jump” sculpture which now graces the Grosvenor Hotel in Stockbridge, UK. The panels were finished in a verdigris patina. Usually applied to bronze, copper and brass, it took months to fine tune a process to apply the same finish to Stainless Steel.

Three 6m long “Tagasi Fibre” ceiling panels extended from the top of the back wall. Made from decorticated leaves of the Maguey plant (Agave Gigante), Tagasi Fibre was developed by James in the early 2000’s. Our local variant of Maguey has a famous cousin, Agave Tequilana which serves a far more important function than beautifying exhibition halls! The panels were a support for the 120 spots that lit the display and were suspended gracefully above the exhibit from three towering posts which were securely anchored to 1,000-pound iron plates hidden beneath the carpet. The tips of the panels spiralled up — like the peeled lid of a sardine tin — accentuating the dynamic sense of speed and motion embodied by the two galloping horses below.

Being a self confessed “tinkerer”, James was particularly proud of his magnetised letters that allowed the ReCreativity signage to click into place on the back wall!