Jer Dee’s ‘Tempest’ is a saturated visual performance of memory

It’s oftentimes in solitude that the silence welcomes waves of thoughts from our subconsciousness—those we have forgotten, those we tend to suppress, those we can look back to with fondness, and those that give a vivid landscape for inspiration to grow from.

Jer Dee’s “Tempest” is a saturated visual performance of memory. The illustrator and art director’s newest works are digitally whimsical—replicating the motion of traditional Eastern art elements while augmenting classic RPG machina silhouettes into his subjects.

Now showing in Makati’s Futur:st, “Tempest” gives a sense of motion. Each one comes with flashing memories and glances of symbols etched in mementos of the past. You’ll immediately see the illustrator’s distinctly chromatic and queer approach in this series, but with it is a new dynamic balance of what feels familiar and looks unique.

“There was a common thread in all of my entries: They all took place in my hometown and household, which is very Filipino-Chinese. I haven’t gone home in the last three years so I guess that’s where my subconscious went. All of my artworks for this show are one way or another inspired by those two places,” Jer shared.

“Tempest” is an expressive approach of his personal memories and his persona as an artist, with a playful vibrance that invites you to take a closer look at each of its elements. There is an overwhelming feeling of respect to tradition as much as there is a need to break away from it.

Like its namesake play by Shakespeare, these works of art contain magic and love. There is nostalgic storytelling embedded in the collection’s works. It has a playful process of a confronting reconnection, conflating beloved times and spaces into each piece. 

“‘Tempest’ is mainly about home. It started as a series of these personal recordings of my vivid dreams last year. You know, there were studies published that said the dreams of people got more intense during the pandemic and I wholeheartedly agree,” the artist said, “It’s also inspired by the challenges that I faced alone in isolation last year, so you’ll see a lot of those two things interweaving in my works.”

“There’s one piece that I’m really proud of: it’s an artwork of the altar of my grandparents and their specters dancing that I remember vividly even without looking at a photo of it,” he shared.

This body of work by the artist is what we’d like to call Otherworldly Oriental, born of personal experiences and rendered in pop. It creates a window to show the complexity of traditions and the richness of life’s tapestry—all while revealing the difference in the memories we own and what we make of them.

“Tempest” by Jer Dee is available for viewing and purchase on Futur:st.

SHINee’s newest B-side track ‘Marry You’ is a romantic serenade I have on repeat

It’s been almost three years since we heard from SHINee. We’ve done our waiting—the countdowns are done, and the replaying of good ol’ tracks is about to halt. The boys are together again and one thing’s for certain: SHINee is back.

On tonight’s 2-hour long comeback tease, the contemporary boy group released their upcoming album’s B-side track titled “Marry You,” a sweet serenade that connects the past with SHINee’s iconic recurring lyrics (mainly from “Replay” and “Love Sick”), emphasizing the maturity they’ve gained through the years of their musical journey. 

It’s an adamant attempt to break away from the love known only to the young, a declaration of growth written as a beautiful ballad. Key and Minho throw the first lines to get the rhythm going, then Taemin swoops in with a powerful hook, leading us to a soft and entrancing version of the chorus. It’s reminiscent of old-school R&B—making us sway to its wistful, dreamy sounds.

The way the keys change in the second verse makes this a classic SHINee song. The boys are amplifying the unique textures and tones of their voices with each lyric. It is the fluidity of the rhythm that solidifies the strength of emotions being brought out of the song.

The effortless swag of Minho’s lines alters the beat come the second verse, while Key is in charge of setting up the tone to welcome Onew’s higher notes—his quiet presence cascades into the song’s climax, where SHINee’s whistling vocals come with a cadence of emotions as the notes get higher.

“Marry You” is a medley filled with warmth. It contains a restrained passion in each of its verses, where the emotions swell when their voices finally meet at the song’s refrain. The chorus pulsates with an energy that feels familiar—yet makes us experience a new richness in SHINee’s sound, a sound of sincerity collected in the years that passed, once again proving the depth time (and the experiences that come with it) can bring into a song.

The B-side track is one smooth ride, bringing with it a harmonious narrative of intimacy and growth—a ballad that cuts through wistful moments and fades into a soothing melody that marries you to the music.

SHINee sings of a love that’s constant, reassuring, and intimate—just like how their presence back on that stage feels like. Now the only question is: How can I fast-forward to Feb. 22 right here, right now?

Photos courtesy of SHINee and SM Entertainment

Whether you’re Team Good Boy or Team Big Hands, you can’t deny that ‘Start-Up’ was still a good show

We all have been sucked into the Korean drama wave this quarantine. I think I can speak for many of us when I say that it’s given us much needed reprieve from the many difficulties happening around the world right now.

The recently concluded tvN drama “Start-Up,” staring Suzy Bae, Nam Joo-hyuk, Kim Seon-ho, and Kang Ha-na made multiple headlines over the past few months, even stirring heated debates among fans about the love triangle plot of the story. 

In those debates, many have sworn to no longer support the show or have even called the show “trash” or a “waste of time” and as a member of Team Good Boy, myself, I’m here to remind all those that were disappointed of the show’s ending with all the reasons why we loved “Start-Up” in the first place. 

It reawakened the dreams we may have long forgotten

At the heart of it all, what really got people hooked on this K-drama was its premise. The fictional world of Sandbox created the perfect backdrop for the storyline wherein it brought together people from different walks of life experiencing the same hardships and starting point.  

It also gave perspective on how people in Asia hustle to make their dreams happen – finding the path that will eventually lead them to what made them actually happy. 

Characters as complex as the plot

Of course, Sandbox wouldn’t be anything without the people in it. In that, we all saw a little bit of ourselves among the different characters, or something that we all wanted to achieve for ourselves. Whether it was Seo Dal-mi’s go-getter attitude, Won In-jae’s quick wit and resourcefulness, Nam Do-san’s battle with Imposter Syndrome, or Han Ji-pyeong’s struggle to be in touch with his emotions, they were all very relatable to both local and international audiences. 

The story is relatable AF

“Start-Up” was one of the dramas that actually got everyone tuning in at the end of every week. It even got casual fans and non K-drama fans to tune in! 

At a time when binge-watching is considered common practice, it’s rare to find a K-drama that’s able to sustain your attention and interest in between weekly air times. More than just a form of entertainment, it brought a lot of people together even when we are physically distant. 

It opened our eyes to many things about the world of start-up businesses – including why one would choose to join one (or start one even) after a long-standing stable career, the difficulties we may not see among start-up teams, and the importance of how even those outside of the business play a role in the start-ups success, as everyone’s support system. 

As much as it was about their businesses, it was also about the people.

They broke K-drama stereotypes

Looking at our four main characters alone, you can already see how the writers played a different card with their individual character arcs. An example of this was how they did not follow the usual K-drama formula of 운명 (Unmyeong), meaning fate or destiny, wherein childhood friends and sweethearts would end up together by the end of the drama. 

They also formed Do-san and Ji-pyeong’s characters: Do-san was not the strong, well-established character as a male lead, and Ji-pyeong was not the quirky, funny sidekick who was meant to act as a foil character as the second lead.

We as an audience gravitated towards the stronger characters like Han Ji-pyeong or Won In-jae, because they showed us the aspirational positions everyone had in Sandbox. But throughout the multiple arguments and conversations I’ve seen, what I’ve realized is that you cannot compare each one’s journey with the other. 

Just like people outside of the fictional world of Sandbox, everyone comes from different upbringings and makes different choices to end up where they are – more than finding fault in the characters and how it contributed to the final storyline, what this drama did was give audiences a wider perspective on people. 

Featured business solutions that actually solved societal problems

As part of the advertising-PR world, I remember saying to a friend how refreshing it was to see them feature businesses that were driven by purpose. From developing Yong-sil, the AI solutions platform for those with worsening eyesight, to Tarzan the self-driving car, it gave me hope that these ideas would also inspire others (in real life) to bet on businesses like these and help create a world that’s inclusive for all types of people. 

It wasn’t perfect, but it was still great

There were plenty of ways this story could have gone, coming from the initial storyline – and that was honestly one of the reasons why I held onto how the story developed every weekend.  

Granted that there were some disappointments to the story’s ending, I still see this drama as one of the best to have come out this year – at a time when so many people needed a bit of inspiration and courage to reignite their old passions and start on new ventures. 

Beyond the disappointments, there are still plenty of reasons why this drama was a good watch, and I hope that’s something we remember as fans. 

If you haven’t watched it yet, I would definitely recommend for you to give it a shot!

✺ Words by Alex Castillo
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ALEX CASTILLO IS A TWENTY-SOMETHING PROFESSIONAL STORYTELLER, CURRENTLY PRACTICING AS A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATOR IN PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVERTISING. SHE’S ALSO AN ENFP, A KDRAMA ADVOCATE, A LOVER OF ALL THINGS DISNEY, AND A HUGE FAN OF PIZZA AND SUSHI. WANT MORE OF HER REAL TALK? FOLLOW HER ON @IM_ALEXCASTILLO.