Two decades after his groundbreaking solo exhibition at the University of Pittsburgh in Bradford, Pennsylvania, renowned Filipino artist Joel Ferraris returns with Free Flow 2.0, his 8th solo exhibition—a compelling continuation of his artistic journey. In 2006, Ferraris captivated audiences with his constructed paintings crafted from found objects, offering a deeply personal lens on his life in Hong Kong.

Now, in 2025, Ferraris re-engages that creative dialogue in Free Flow 2.0, bridging past and present through new works that reflect the evolution of his vision, materials, and message over the last 20 years at the Molo Mansion in Iloilo City. 

A combined collection of old and new works unified by the theme, Free Flow 2.0 shows a modern artistic expression that weaves together elements of cultural introspection, historical commentary, observations with nature and natural phenomena, and everyday experiences. The works evokes inner workings of organic systems, often likened to magnified microorganisms, hidden minerals or gem stones exposed or found in or near tectonically active zones or in shorelines. 

“Art making continues to bring joy and happiness to me. It makes my mind active and it enriches my imagination even as I age,” said Ferraris.

Recollection and nostalgia 

Joel Ferraris discovered his passion for art at a very young age. As soon as he could hold a pencil, he began sketching stick figures inspired by the scenes in his imagination. Encouraged by his creativity, his mother would bring home used office paper, giving him the blank backs to freely draw on and express himself.

In 1996, Joel Ferraris relocated to Hong Kong to join his wife, marking the beginning of nearly 26 years of life immersed in the city’s dynamic cultural landscape. Throughout this time, he cultivated a distinct visual language—an artistic voice that resonated with the emotional and psychological landscape of the Filipino overseas worker, while simultaneously capturing the nuances of everyday life in Hong Kong.

This evolving narrative found its early public expression in Rapid Reflections (1997), a Two-Man exhibition with fellow Filipino artist Justo Cascante, held at the esteemed John Batten Gallery. The show offered a poignant dialogue between displacement and adaptation, identity and belonging.

Ferraris continued to explore these themes in subsequent works, most notably in his third solo exhibition, Baggage (2002), presented by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In this body of work, the artist confronted the literal and metaphorical weight carried by migrants—transforming personal experience into collective reflection through layered imagery and conceptual depth.

The Rinagaakscapes collection

The collection captures how minerals and gem stones are brought into the surface by natural events like earthquakes, making rumbling growl, he describes as “ragaak” in Hiligaynon conversation, that fearful sound that starts deep beneath the ground, mixed with sharper cracking when the earth’s crust literally breaks. In these events, sounds in urban areas are characterized by creaking steel, shattering glass, clattering objects, and the shriek of twisting metal while outdoors, the quake might bring groaning trees, shifting rocks, and the unsettling howl of wind displaced by moving ground.

Joel Ferraris has returned to his roots in Iloilo, reconnecting with the quiet rhythm of his birthplace in Sonalan, Jaro. In recalling his childhood, Ferraris paints scenes that are almost cinematic in their clarity—memories steeped in simplicity, joy, and a deep sense of place.

He remembers, as if it were only yesterday, the thrill that came with the rain. As the skies opened, he and his siblings would eagerly watch as the man-made ditches in front of their home filled with water. Once the rain had cleansed the earth, these ditches transformed into clear, makeshift pools—inviting and pure. It was in those spontaneous bodies of water that they would wade and splash, unaware of the world’s complexities.

These recollections are not just nostalgic—they reflect a formative environment where community and care offered a quiet refuge. In a time before life’s greater uncertainties revealed themselves, it was enough that Sonalan provided a safe, nurturing world where joy was found in something as simple—and profound—as rainwater.

Free Flow series

“This is my first solo exhibition in Iloilo, and it is a privilege to bring my work to the public eye here,” he shares. “Through this exhibit, I hope to highlight the richness of our history and the complex dynamics of modern life that shape our collective identity.”

The Molo Mansion, with its rich colonial heritage, provides an apt backdrop for the exhibition. The historic building mirrors Ferraris’ own exploration of the tensions between the past and the present. It’s as though the Mansion itself serves as a silent witness to the collision of history and progress — a theme that Ferraris explores with subtlety and innovation in his new pieces.

This new body of work reflects the city’s dual nature — a blend of colonial-era remnants and the rapid pace of modernization and consumerism and showing the global experiences of Ferraris, and how he fuses the old with the new into a visual dialogue through his unique method of presentation dubbed as UNO – Unique, Novel, and Original.

The method has allowed him to give new life to ordinary things, transforming them into a narrative of beauty, history, and personal connection.

“If our creator will give me another life, I will still be an artist and make art. I will bring to the audience paintings that reflect the richness and abundance of His creations which brings not only beauty but offers meaning to our lives,” he added.

Two Landscapes, Two Childholds

This large-scale painting on canvas is Joel Ferraris’ most widely traveled work. It was originally created in his studio in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, located in a repurposed industrial building near his home in Riviera Gardens. From there, the piece was shipped to the United States for his first solo exhibition, Free Flow, held in 2006 at the University of Pittsburgh in Bradford, Pennsylvania.

Following its U.S. debut, the painting returned to Hong Kong, where it was exhibited in 2009 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre as part of Kulay, Kultura, Kalawili (Color, Culture and Harmony).

Its journey culminated in the Philippines, where it was finally exhibited in Ferraris’ hometown of Iloilo City during BOXED OUT in 2015—a three-man show featuring the Ferraris brothers at the UPV Art Gallery.

Two Landscapes, Two Childhoods stands as both a physical and emotional journey—a canvas that has traversed continents while bearing the layered memories of place, identity, and the shared roots of two childhoods.