Richard Tuason is known for his astonishing art pieces and talent in creating artworks through the use of the different forms of media. From building sculptures with the use of random materials such as piano parts, old doorknobs, and scraps of wood, to painting contemporary pieces using oil on canvas and sometimes even through charcoal; it is no doubt that Richard Tuason is one that can make staggering artworks through whatever can be found- including a simple ballpoint pen and paper.

A little over a year ago success was conferred with his previous art gallery in Art Underground Manila entitled “Temporary Art” which showed various contemporary art pieces representing an audience’s perception of art under the influence of media. His pieces were mainly formed by the use of ballpoint pens. A year later, Richard Tuason opens a new gallery in Art Underground entitled “Alpha.” Alpha is way for Tuason to communicate the need to see how animals are remarkable in their own habitats in order to understand how amazing the Earth is without the damage formed by human effect. It is important for the audience to see animals the way he sees them- as valuable creatures.

Just like the pieces in Temporary Art, the main medium used for the artworks put up in Alpha are a ballpoint pen and paper. Contrary to the previous contemporary works Richard Tuason has created, these pieces are far more realistic with each detail carefully put together. Portraying images of different species and kinds of animals, one may notice that the titles of each piece have a significance to various bible stories.

An eye-catching artwork showing a flock of sheep entitled “99” shows resemblance to the “Parable of the Lost Sheep” where a shepherd leaves his flock of ninety-nine sheep in order to find the one which is lost. Another artwork in reference to a bible story is one showing a Pride (group of lions) entitled “Darius, Daniel and the Den”. This artwork’s title shows resemblance to the bible story of “Daniel in the Lion’s Den” where Daniel was cast by the king into a pit of lions and later survived because God sent an angel to close the jaws of the lion causing the people of the world to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. Tuason’s drawing of scattering birds flying entitled “After the Flood” also connects to the bible story of “Noah’s Ark” where a great typhoon was set to come and each pair of animals were kept in the ark in order to survive the flood. Aside from those three pieces, an artwork in the gallery entitled “Conquest, War, Famine and Plague” showing four horses can be familiar to some because it also resembles the bible story known as “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.” This was a prophecy describing a period of time when a quarter of population of the earth was killed by a combination of wars, famine and disease.

Connecting the names of Richard Tuason’s artworks and the message he is trying to portray, one could truly understand the real essence of the pieces in the gallery. Each title resembles a bible story involving animals. Everybody grows up believing that we are all creatures living in this planet we consider as our home. Because of this, he emphasizes through his pieces in Alpha that as humans believed to be the ‘stewards of God’s creation’, it is our responsibility to take care of the planet including these animals which continue to suffer because of us. With each expression of the animals drawn, it is safe to say that Tuason truly put in the effort to connect the audience to his individual pieces. Through the art he has created, Richard Tuason hopes that others will be more aware of the environment and respects it the way humans are believed to. For someone to receive that message equates to his success in fulfilling his obligation as an artist. That is the sole reason behind why he creates the art that he does.