Nimfa Ursabia in in her first solo show
Deconstruct Madonnas, showcased mixed media collages of the Virgin Mary at the Whitewall
Gallery in Makati City from September 25 to October 9, 2009. Deconstructing the Madonnas through
mixed media collage is Ursabia’s form of artistic expression. The process of doing collage, says Ursabia, “ is a personal thing”. It begins with the combination of colors,the kind of paper,the texture,the shapes,the patterns, the main subject. One tries to inter-relate the different parts- the bits and pieces into the same part until it looks like a whole. Even though there is this visual creativity going on, there is still the main focalpoint point or the subject standing out from the assortment of shapes, textures and colors. Ursabia finds creating collages, whatever theme it maybe, to be a relaxing and
therapeutic process; some sort of art therapy or therapeutic art you may call it. Though relaxing, there is this surge of spontaneous creativity that drives one to get the work done, almost immediately. There is this excitement in the play of colors, papers, used, shapes, textures, the splashes of paint here and there.
In this show, Ursabia finds the Virgin Mary as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. The images of Virgin Mary in her collage reflect the sufferings and joy of motherhood that has radiated with youthfulness, tenderness and compassion for two thousand years of human history. Ursabia finished primary and secondary education in Lagos,Nigeria. This was where her love for the arts began. She stayed in Nigeria for 17 years 1966 to 1982 until it was time to leave for university in Manila. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Philippine Womens University Institute of Fine Arts and Design and majored in interior and industrial design in 1987.