Derek Tumala

Derek Tumala’s Island in the Sun stands for a state of mind that is a product of delirium, extreme heat, and the loss of meaning due to the inevitable climate crisis, which, while global, is not affecting all parts of the world equally. The installation, consisting of a video and sculptures utilising handmade paper from the abaca plant, seems to derive from a fever dream, a heatstroke which is not simply metaphorical. For the Philippines, it has become a reality that its people are trying to navigate, improvise, and survive while faced with the climate crisis and a lack of solutions and political will.

The title of the work is a reference to the song by the band Weezer, which describes a state of pleasant disorientation and loss of control induced by a summer haze, which takes on an ominous new meaning when facing the threat of rising temperatures. Tumala’s sculptures resemble the surface of the sun, connecting it to local mythology, namely the Filipino sun god Apolaki, a warrior wielding a sword, symbolising the power of the sun, praised throughout human history and its cultures, and something we must see as a real threat today. We soon realise that what is meant to mimic the surface of the sun can also be true of Earth’s core, a place full of violent energy and destructive heat, simultaneously enabling all life as well as endangering it.

Derek Tumala’s work is rich in double meanings, subversions, and dream-like parallels and crossovers. Music is an important source for him, reading into lyrics, interpreting them with a contemporary viewpoint and according to his personal and artistic sensibility.

Produced by TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary for the 36th Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts, 2025.