Fine art photographer Amanda LuYm and Jaime Chua of Blooms and Greens celebrated the beauty of creativity with Dangerous Beauty, an art exhibit at Qube Contemporary, Design Center of Cebu.

Dangerous Beauty features a collection of striking photographs, digital collages, and jewelry that plays around the concepts of power and transformation. Using liminal space, the creators aimed to intertwine the spectacle brought by indigenous Filipino and Asian flora, luxurious jewels, and captivating photos to present interesting elements that we see when we walk around the world.

Behind the Art

Amanda LuYm is a practicing artist, photographer, and designer. Her breadth of work involves photography, jewelry, product design, and lifestyle curation for The Glitterati Inc. and the e-commerce site Disenyo Del Sur, which houses the brands: All That Glitters, Padayon, Potheads, and Blank Canvas.

Amanda’s unique style combines elements of fashion with minimalism to create elegant, simple, and complex looks. There is a touch of romance in her work, which encompasses all that is beautiful while emphasizing simplicity through the use of light and shadow across her subjects. 

On the other hand, Jaime Chua is a landscape architect with a passion for ornamental and flowering plants. He earned his degree in BS Architecture from the University of San Carlos, but his love for plants goes back to his early years under the influence of his grandmother.

By profession, he incorporates his architectural knowledge with his expertise in ornamentals and floras to come up with beautiful yet pragmatic landscape designs. He has been in the landscaping industry since 1990 and has earned multiple awards, recognitions, and public trust. He is dubbed as the ultimate “plant tito.”

The Jewels of the Season

Aside from featuring the photographs of Amanda LuYm and the flowering plants and ornaments by Jaime Chua, the exhibit also showcases premium hand-crafted jewelry by Cacay Moras from her brand All That Glitters.

One thing that’s very interesting about this particular art exhibit is the intentionality of its messaging as well as its orientation within the liminal space. Each jewelry design was made for the art exhibit, inspired by the photographs displayed within the area. It aims to bring an immersive experience by focusing on what appears seamless to the eye. 

The world is a beautiful place. It’s full of natural beauty, art, and bold photography. But sometimes, it’s hard to find that perfect combination of all three elements

Dangerous Beauty gave a one-of-a-kind immersive experience—indeed, how magical it was! If beauty in art is danger, we’re all in!

Dangerous Beauty is ongoing at Qube Contemporary, located at the Design Center of Cebu along A.S. Fortuna Street. The exhibit runs until September 10, 2022.

^{Photos by Kurl Flores}