TAGPING TIRAHAN is an assemblage of mixed media artworks is inspired by all the houses I see here in the Philippines. We have barong-barongs, and near Blumentritt where I used to live is also the squatter's area. When I went to an island near my wife’s hometown in Obando, Bulacan, I saw a lot of people living in makeshift houses in the middle of the river. They have compounded and clustered, the term “Kapit bahay” has never been true.

I also admire the creativity of my fellow Filipinos, who turn any scrap into something useful. Of course, they might not be comfortable as most of us are in our concrete homes, but seeing what they can construct with whatever they have is very inspiring, not just from an artistic point of view but also in practical life.

When I tackled my journey into abstraction, I took inspiration from them, assembling torn-out cardboard, ukay-ukay bought shirts and cloths, colorful doormats, and excess wood from my father’s woodwork shop as well as various things we discard around the house. For me to create such wonderful homes using various things we freely throw away is a revelation of what we often consider as trash, but to a creative mind, can be turned into hues of paint.

On seeing these pieces of works, free to be interpreted in these abstract-like formations, we can also be revealed that these so-called barong-barongs no longer look like the houses of poor people. Instead, we can envision them in a different way. We can see them as mansions and castles, but a true home none the less, for any house that we see that is lived in, is worthy to be called a home.

A total of 41 artworks, created and assembled on canvas from 2025–present by Marius Black .